Caltech Clears Final Review for 1,650-Dish Radio Array, Targeting 2029 Buildout
Updated
Updated · Caltech · Jun 11
Caltech Clears Final Review for 1,650-Dish Radio Array, Targeting 2029 Buildout
2 articles · Updated · Caltech · Jun 11
Summary
Caltech’s Deep Synoptic Array has passed its final design review with Schmidt Sciences, clearing the project to begin construction in a remote Nevada valley.
The 1,650-dish array—spanning about 20 by 16 kilometers—is slated for completion by 2029 and is designed to become the world’s most sensitive radio telescope while surveying the sky 100 times faster than rivals.
A real-time “radio camera” and Chronoscope system are central to the design, turning a raw data stream comparable to all current U.S. internet traffic into instantly usable images and 1,000-frames-per-second sky searches.
Caltech says the telescope could match the roughly 20 million radio sources found by all other radio telescopes on its first day and discover about 1 billion new sources during its initial five-year survey.
That reach is expected to expand searches for fast radio bursts, pulsars and neutron-star mergers, while producing fully public radio images for the global astronomy community.
What will we find by surveying the entire sky 100 times faster than ever before?
Can a telescope using cake pans and AI finally solve the universe's greatest mysteries?
How will astronomers manage the data from one billion new cosmic objects?
Deep Synoptic Array: Transforming Radio Astronomy with 1 Billion New Discoveries and Open Data
Overview
The Deep Synoptic Array (DSA), led by Caltech, marks a new era in radio astronomy by using a vast network of smaller dishes to survey the entire visible sky at unprecedented speeds. Inspired by the Very Large Array but on a much larger scale, the DSA is designed to rapidly discover millions of new radio sources and unlock mysteries about the universe’s structure. With strong leadership and innovative technology, the DSA aims to transform our understanding of the cosmos, making groundbreaking discoveries possible and setting new standards for large-scale astronomical research.