> Australia and New Zealand

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In August 2009, Australia and New Zealand agreed to collaborate on a joint bid for hosting the SKA in Australia – New Zealand.

The Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, approximately 315km north east of Geraldton in the Mid West region of Western Australia, is the candidate core site in Australia and New Zealand’s bid to site the SKA.

Features of the Australia and New Zealand site proposal include:

• The Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory is situated in the Shire of Murchison, which is roughly the size of The Netherlands and yet has a permanent population of approximately 110 people. This low population density enables the strict radio-quietness requirements of the SKA to be met. This environment will be maintained for the future by the 260km radius Mid West Radio Quiet Zone.

• The opportunity to develop the SKA across the two countries, with a maximum baseline of around 5,000km.

• The low population density across WA and inland Australia means that there is significant flexibility in placement of remote array stations to achieve all science objectives.

• Australia is well provided with high bandwidth optic-fibre infrastructure.

In addition, Australia and New Zealand have:

• A view of the Southern sky that overlaps that of Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Very Large Telescope (VLT), and includes excellent access to the centre of the Milky Way.

• An east-west orientation that allows for best imaging quality.

• A well-developed community of radio astronomers with a strong history of scientific discovery and technological innovation.

• A technologically sophisticated society with extensive engineering capabilities and wide experience in international partnerships.

More about this location :
Initial Australian Site Analysis White Paper (2003)
Australia – New Zealand SKA Website
Swinburne SKA Simulation and Radio Interferometry Group

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