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Official SKA book released

A new book has been published focusing of the work of the Square Kilometre Array.

The official SKA science publication is the first to be released in over ten years and is entitled ‘Advancing Astrophysics with the Square Kilometre Array’. The book contains 135 chapters written by 1,213 contributors from 31 nationalities, and includes the proceedings from the SKA science conference held in Giardini Naxos, Sicily last year.

Speaking about the new 2,000 page book, SKA science director Dr Robert Braun said: “The publication of the new SKA science book is the culmination of more than a year’s work by the SKA science team and the scientific community at large. It’s also a great testimony to the growing interest and scope of the SKA since the publication of the last book ten years ago.”

The chapters reflect the large breadth of science to be undertaken within the SKA, including cosmology and the study of dark matter and dark energy; the search for life in the Universe, through the study of molecules in forming planetary systems and the search for potential radio signals from intelligent civilisations; and looking back at the cosmic dawn of the Universe and the apparition of the first stars to study the distribution of hydrogen.

Other topics covered in the publication include mapping the thousands of pulsars in our galaxy; seeking gravitational waves and monitoring the Sun’s activity, as well as synergies with other major astronomical facilities; and supporting science from future space missions such as ESA’s Gaia and Euclid missions.

The book follows ‘Science with the Square Kilometre Array’, which was published in 2004. More details on the new publication can be found here.