SKAO features in special section of SPIE journal

BY SKAO

In its first issue of 2022, the Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments and Systems (JATIS) dedicated a special section to the SKA Observatory, featuring 26 papers from partners across the project. The journal is published by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.

With the SKAO established and its two telescopes in construction, the aim of this special section was to provide an up-to-date overview of the SKA project and its plans for the future.

Guest editors of the section were the SKAO’s Dr Anna Bonaldi and Luca Stringhetti, Associate Prof. Stefan J. Wijnholds of ASTRON and Stellenbosch University, and Prof. Justin Jonas of SARAO and Rhodes University.

“We invited contributions on different engineering aspects of the SKA design,” says Dr Bonaldi, “in particular those posing significant technological challenges, such as large-N radio interferometry [N being the number of antennas], resilience to radio frequency interference, high sensitivity, high system complexity, a harsh operating environment and large data volumes.”

Among the papers are two reviews on the SKA-Low and SKA-Mid telescopes written by several SKAO colleagues as first authors. There are also contributions from SKA precursors and pathfinders, which are not only acting as technology demonstrators for components of the SKA, but are also pioneering some of its planned observations.

“As editors, we would like to thank all authors and referees that contributed to the special section, as well as all the researchers, engineers, and professionals around the world who are making the SKA project a reality,” adds Dr Bonaldi.

All the papers are available on the SPIE website.