Hundreds gather online for interferometry workshop

BY CSIRO

More than 400 people gathered online in February 2022 to discuss the future of very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) science once the SKA telescopes are operational.

Hosted by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and also sponsored by the SKA Observatory (SKAO), the week-long “VLBI in the SKA era” workshop saw global interest in the topic. In total, 16% of the participants were from Australia, with China, South Africa, and the Netherlands representing the next top locations. Support from CSIRO’s Cutting-Edge Symposium programme allowed the organisers to offer free registration and further accessibility grants leading to wide participation.

Highlights from the workshop included:

• presentations from several SKA science working group chairs emphasising the broad range of research that will be strengthened by VLBI

• updates and plans from many VLBI facilities, including specific attention to low-frequency VLBI

• discussions on the role of SKA regional centres in SKA-era VLBI

• preliminary planning on VLBI methodology for both SKA- Mid and SKA-Low.

Eighty speakers presented over the week, 74 of them live. The full agenda can still be viewed online, and recordings are available for registered participants. A conference summary paper is in preparation for planned release in 2022.

View the event website: https://whova.com/web/vlbis_202111/Agenda

Heatmap of global participation in the VLBI in the SKA era workshop.

Credit: CSIRO