Caltech Unveils 1,650-Dish Nevada Telescope to Scan Cosmos 100 Times Faster
Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Jun 15
Caltech Unveils 1,650-Dish Nevada Telescope to Scan Cosmos 100 Times Faster
2 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · Jun 15
Summary
Caltech released final design specifications for the Deep Synoptic Array, a 1,650-dish radio telescope planned for a 12-by-10-mile site in Nevada and targeted for completion in 2029.
The array is designed to survey the sky 100 times faster than any existing telescope by pairing thousands of dishes with a supercomputer that turns incoming radio signals into real-time images.
That processing system avoids storing roughly 100 exabytes of raw data—about 5 million hard drives in a multibillion-dollar facility—making the project technically and financially feasible.
Backed by about $200 million from Caltech and Schmidt Sciences, the DSA will make its science-ready data public immediately, with prototypes already tested in California's Mojave Desert.
Caltech says the telescope could match the roughly 20 million radio sources found by all other radio telescopes on its first day and uncover about 1 billion new sources in its initial survey.
As satellite constellations fill the sky, can a $200 million telescope still hear the universe's secrets?
What cosmic mysteries will be solved first when a new telescope discovers 20 million radio sources on its first day?
When a telescope's data is open to all, could a student discover what professional astronomers have missed?
The Deep Synoptic Array: Revolutionizing Radio Astronomy with 1 Billion New Discoveries and Open Data
Overview
The Deep Synoptic Array (DSA), developed by Caltech, marks a groundbreaking advancement in radio astronomy by introducing advanced design and processing capabilities. Set to launch in June 2026, the DSA is poised to transform large-scale sky surveys by efficiently handling the massive data generated by modern radio observations. Without such technology, storing 100 exabytes of data would require an unmanageable infrastructure of millions of hard drives and enormous costs. The DSA's innovative approach overcomes these challenges, making ambitious astronomical projects possible and opening a new era of discovery in understanding the universe.