NZ helping to beat the final frontier

Space may not be the final frontier in New Zealand much longer if a joint bid with Australia to win a mammoth astronomical telescope project is successful.

The US$1 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project will result in construction of 100 to 150 antennae making up one giant radio telescope. Most of the antennae would be based in Australia, with one or two in New Zealand acting as outriggers.

"I don't think there has been any radio astronomy done to speak of in New Zealand before," said world-renowned astronomical physics expert Professor Tor Hagfors. "This will introduce it."

The SKA will enable scientists to research the Earth's early history and look more closely at tectonic plate movement.

"It's a very important part of astronomy, looking very deep in the universe, right to the beginning or shortly after the Big Bang," he said.

Hagfors is here for two months advising the Auckland University of Technology's Centre for Radiophysics and Space Research on a proposal to present to organisers.

An international committee of 17 nations, including Australia and New Zealand, will make a decision on the bid next year. South Africa, China, Argentina and the United States are also bidding on the project, but Hagfors says Australia has a "strong proposal" in that it has a lot of land available, and the country has a long history in radio astronomy.

Australasia is also seen as a favourite because of its clear views of the galaxy and an unpolluted radio environment.

New Zealand stands to benefit by "piggy-backing" on the inevitable technological developments the project will attract, from data communication and computer data analysis to antenna design.

"A small part of this can be supplied by New Zealand industry," Hagfors said.

Once the location has been decided, funding will have to be arranged. The project will be financed through tax contributions by member countries, and completion isn't expected for 10 to 15 years.

Norwegian-born Hagfors brings with him distinguished accolades, not the least of which is having an asteroid named after him. He is the former director of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center at Cornell University in the United States, and was responsible for overseeing and upgrading the Arecibo telescope - the world's largest curved antenna - in Puerto Rico.