Sunday, November 27, 2011
Radio Astronomy - Square Kilometer Array (SKA)
Readers may be interested in the SKA (Square Kilometer Array) project under development in South Africa. A €150 billion project intended to be the most sensitive instrument available to radio astronomers to date, probing the depths and ‘extremities’ of the cosmos, costing ~€100 million annually to run.
It seems that humanity seeks to discover its origins, to confirm theories and ideas, explore new possibilities and learn more about its place in the universe. For some, confirmation of generally accepted theories such as evolution and the search for extraterrestrial life - for others verification of intelligence and purpose.
Richard Hawking’s once said that “understanding the intricate workings of the universe would be to know the mind of God - a supreme triumph of human reason”. The workings of a clock however, has little bearing on the ability of the user to tell the time - the intricacies are intended for that purpose - cosmologically, if only to sustain life and provide an avenue for consciousness…
Regardless of ones philosophical disposition, radio astronomy provides a window into the unknown regions of the cosmos. Should we inquire - is the money better spent? The argument that mankind has lived quite successfully without this knowledge is contextually correct, because the tools were not available, not because of a perception that knowledge of the cosmos has little relevance to everyday life - it has, because it’s the stuff that builds on the knowledge of who we are - and isn’t that what everyone wants to know?