Uni telescope gets CSIRO systems facelift

CSIRO has helped the University of Sydney to improve the performance of its radio telescope by developing new signal-processing systems.

University of Sydney's Square Kilometre Array Molonglo Prototype telescope. (Credit: University of Sydney)

The upgrade has made the Canberra-based telescope three times more sensitive and has given it 10 times more bandwidth, enabling it to make better-quality images of objects in space.

"This project has given our telescope a whole new capability," the University of Sydney's Professor Anne Green said in a statement. "It looks the same, but under the bonnet it's been born again."

The knowledge CSIRO gained in the project will now be used for the Australia Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope.

"What we've learned over several years will now allow us to dramatically shorten our design cycle for ASKAP's digital systems, as well as potentially feed into future development work that will be required for the SKA," CSIRO Square Kilometre Array (SKA) director Dr Brian Boyle said in a statement.