Australian radio telescope maps 3 million galaxies at record speed

Astronomers using a powerful new Australian radio telescope have mapped approximately 3 million galaxies in record speed, producing a “Google map of the Universe” as they call.

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), developed by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, mapped the galaxies in just 300 hours, about one million of which have never seen before, according to the agency.

The wide field of view of the telescope have played a fundamental role to take panoramic pictures of the sky in unprecedented detail. The science team observed 83 percent of the whole sky.

“For the first time ASKAP has flexed its full muscles, building a map of the Universe in greater detail than ever before, and at record speed,” lead author and CSIRO astronomer David McConnell said.

Scientists hope to discover tens of millions of new galaxies in future surveys. “This census of the Universe will be used by astronomers around the world to explore the unknown and study everything from star formation to how galaxies and their super-massive black holes evolve and interact,” McConnell added.

Overwhelming success of the Australian radio telescope

ASKAP consists of 36 dish antennas, each of them is 12 meters in diameter. Due to its capability to generate up to 36 dual-polarization, the telescope can carry out rapid survey, and distinguished snapshot imaging capacity is the tool’s another feature.

It only needed to piece 903 images together to map the sky, comparing with all-sky radio surveys conducted by other major telescopes around the world.

“ASKAP is another outstanding example of Australia’s world-leading radio astronomy capability,” said Australia’s Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Karen Andrews. “This new survey proves that we are ready to make a giant leap forward in the field of radio astronomy.”

The results were published in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.

Australian radio telescope maps 3 million galaxies at record speed. Image: Tthe Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Bonus: The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder