Giant Telescopes of Tomorrow
Square Kilometer Array
The SKA will have 30 times the sensitivity of today's best radio telescope. Covering radio frequencies different from those of LOFAR, it will have half a million square yards of collecting area. Half of this will be within an inner array with a three-mile diameter, to provide extremely high brightness sensitivity; the remainder will extend out over 1,800 miles. This will allow imaging of the faint emissions from the surface of stars, for example, and the interstellar medium of distant galaxies. The SKA will also be well-suited to seek radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations.