World-class astronomy 
in the Australian outback

Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, 
the CSIRO Murchison Radio‑astronomy Observatory



Welcome to Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison 
Radio‑astronomy Observatory in the heart of Wajarri Country in Western 
Australia – one of the best locations in the world for radio astronomy. 

The observatory currently hosts three world-class radio 
instruments: the ASKAP radio telescope, the Murchison 
Widefield Array (MWA), and the Experiment to Detect the 
Global EoR Signature (EDGES). It is also the site where 
the international SKA Observatory (SKAO) is building the 
SKA‑Low telescope – Australia’s first mega-science facility. 
These instruments are providing a new window into the 
mysteries of the Universe, which will be further realised 
when the SKA-Low telescope comes online later this decade.

Radio telescopes are powerful instruments designed to 
detect the faintest radio signals from objects across the 
Universe. This ability makes them particularly sensitive to 
radio interference caused by transmitters, such as mobile 
phones, broadcast towers and even electrical equipment. 

The Murchison is one of the best places on Earth for 
radio astronomy – a large area with a small population, 
remote so that it has comparably little radio interference, 
and its location in the Southern Hemisphere meaning 
a clear view into the centre of the galaxy. And, while 
the telescopes are at the frontier of technology, 
they come with a low impact on the land.

Aboriginal Australians are Australia’s first astronomers and 
share a long-standing knowledge of the sky. An Indigenous 
Land Use Agreement (ILUA) has been negotiated with 
the Wajarri Yamaji, the Traditional Owners and Native 
Title Holders of the land on which the observatory sits. 

We are grateful to the Wajarri Yamaji for partnering with 
us in establishing the observatory on Country and for the 
support they have shown as we work together towards 
furthering astronomical knowledge from their ancient lands.

Visiting the observatory

The Australian and Western Australian governments 
established a radio quiet zone centred on 
the observatory. It protects this unique radio 
astronomy site by ensuring radio frequency 
emissions are managed and the radio telescopes 
can observe the sky with limited interference.

When visiting the observatory remember we 
are a working scientific site, with a rich heritage 
and remote location, as well as host to the 
construction of a mega-science project.

That means that 

• all electronic devices (including smart watches 
and fitness trackers) must be switched off, or in 
flight mode with bluetooth and wifi switched off
• cameras can only be used with 
permission – including from phones
• everything must be left as you found it – 
do not collect any rocks, plant life or soil
• the environment contains hazards – consider 
your personal safety and ensure you keep 
hydrated and sun safe, keep with the group 
and don’t wander outside designated areas
• you may encounter animals on site – 
do not interact with the local wildlife 
for your, and their, protection.


Wajarri representatives Russell Simpson and Valerie Jones 
sign the ILUA at a community meeting. Credit: Wajarri Yamaji 
Aboriginal Corporation (WYAC)

Inyarrimanha 
Ilgari Bundara, 
the CSIRO Murchison 
Radio‑astronomy 
Observatory

Geraldton

Perth

Sydney



Inyarrimanha ilgari bundara – 
sharing the sky and stars 

Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for tens of 
thousands of years. The Wajarri Yamaji have lived in the 
Murchison region of Western Australia for much of this time. 

The Wajarri Yamaji, as Traditional Owners and Native 
Title Holders of the land on which the observatory sits, 
partner with the Australian Government and CSIRO 
through an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA).

The ILUA ensures the preservation of Wajarri cultural 
heritage during construction of SKA-Low and operation of the 
telescopes on site, as well as delivering multi‑generational 
benefits to the Wajarri Yamaji community. 

Negotiated over many years, the ILUA follows the principles 
of free, prior and informed consent as set out in the 
UN Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 
ensuring genuine inclusion and respect for Wajarri 
Yamaji knowledge and decision-making processes.

Heritage is not simply about sites and objects, but all that is 
passed down from one generation to the next through oral 
tradition, including language, stories, places of significance, 
history, belief and memories. It’s what connects the past with 
the present, and continues to have relevance into the future. 

The Wajarri Yamaji have a strong connection to Country, 
both the land, water and sky, and value the Sun, Moon 
and stars for information and seasonal survival, 
as well as for the keeping of culture and stories. 

The hot, dry Murchison landscape features rivers, creek 
beds and water holes – home to unique plants and animals. 
Wajarri people frequent Country and spend time hunting 
and collecting traditional foods and medicines, as well as 
visiting sites of significance in the area. Several communities 
have developed on Wajarri Country, including the 
closest community to the observatory, Pia Wadjarri.

The Wajarri language is still spoken across Wajarri communities 
with many words in use at the observatory, including names 
for the MWA radio telescope, each antenna of the ASKAP 
radio telescope and the SKA-Low construction village.

As part of the 2022 ILUA the expanded observatory received 
a Wajarri traditional name, Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, 
meaning ‘sharing the sky and stars’ in the Wajarri language. 
The dual name used for the observatory, like the other 
Wajarri names on site, reflects and celebrates our partnership 
with the Wajarri community. We look forward to continuing 
work with the Wajarri to reflect their culture and language, 
including names for SKA-Low telescope buildings and 
components and more broadly across the observatory.

We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamaji as Traditional 
Owners and Native Title Holders of the observatory site. 

Wajarri representative and member of the ILUA negotiation team 
Dwayne Mallard reflects on Country and the observatory sharing this land:

“It’s quite special. We’ve all got a responsibility and 
obligation to preserve, protect maintain and restore the 
dignity of our cultures, and this is a global example of the 
advancement of science happening not at the expense and 
detriment of our Wajarri Yamatji culture and way of being.”

“There are many lenses on any landscape. Here, on 
Wajarri Yamaji Country, and shown in the ILUA 
negotiation process and outcome, we have all lenses 
coexisting: scientific, cultural, social and ecological. 
Our lens was shared and seen, our voice was heard, 
understood and respected. We can now all walk together 
and honour our ancestors to preserve and protect 
Country and most importantly, maintain its dignity.”

Dwayne Mallard on Country.



Ancient land under brilliant skies

While the radio astronomy observatory on Wajarri Country 
is relatively new, the land it resides on is not. Nearby Mt 
Narryer has some of the oldest rocks on Earth, estimated 
to be 3.6 billion years old. The Murchison landscape 
contains minerals hundreds of millions of years older than 
the rocks they’re within. These minerals will have formed 
before the Earth’s crust and remain unchanged ever since. 

The observatory as we know it today occupies the 
4,300 square kilometres that make up the historic 
Boolardy and Kalli stations. One of the oldest and 
largest pastoral stations in Western Australia, Boolardy 
was primarily used for wool production until it 
transitioned to cattle in the 1980s. Since it became 
host to radio astronomy the station has gradually 
been de-stocked, with no current pastoral activity.

The observatory was first established in 2009, 
both for Australian radio astronomy and as part of 
the Australian bid to host the SKA telescope. 

The original observatory site hosts ASKAP and MWA, 
which are world-class telescopes in their own right as well 
as SKA telescope precursors – providing technological, 
design and operations guidance for the SKA telescopes.

The Wajarri Yamaji, as Traditional Owners and 
Native Title Holders of the land, partnered with 
CSIRO and the Australian and Western Australian 
governments to bid for hosting the SKA telescopes, 
joining international delegations to showcase 
Australia as a potential host for the SKA project.

In 2012 it was announced that Australia’s bid was 
successful, alongside South Africa, and that Australia 
would host one of the two SKA telescopes, SKA-Low.

The successful bid needed an expanded observatory 
site, and in 2022 a new ILUA was signed enabling 
expansion of the site and construction of the SKA‑Low 
telescope at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO 
Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory.

In 2025 neighbouring Kalli Station was added to 
the observatory footprint, and is now transitioning 
from pastoral activities to radio astronomy.

Radio astronomy in the Murchison

Early 1990s 

Development of the SKA telescope 
concept begins globally.

1996

Investigations start 
for potential SKA 
telescope sites 
in Australia.

2001 

First testing for 
radio quietness 
in the Murchison.

The WA Government 
creates the first radio 
quiet protections for 
the Murchison region.

2007 

Boolardy Station is 
chosen as the location 
for the observatory.

2009 

The first ILUA 
is signed with 
the Wajarri 
Yamaji, officially 
establishing the 
observatory.



2012 

The SKA telescope sites are 
decided – SKA-Low in Australia 
and SKA-Mid in South Africa. 

The ASKAP radio telescope 
opening ceremony. 

2013 

The MWA 
telescope is 
operational.

2016 

Pastoral activities end 
at Boolardy Station, 
accelerating the 
observatory land’s 
regeneration.

2017 

The first test 
array for the 
SKA‑Low 
telescope starts 
observing.

2020

ASKAP’s first 
all‑sky survey, 
RACS, is 
completed. 

2021 

The SKAO is 
established.

Australia signs 
the Host Country 
Agreement for the 
SKA-Low telescope 
with the SKAO.

2022 

A new ILUA with the Wajarri Yamaji 
is signed, expanding the observatory. 

SKA-Low telescope 
construction begins.

2023 

Infrastructure 
preparation – 
including optical 
fibre, power 
cables and 
mesh – begins 
for the SKA-Low 
telescope on site. 

2024 

SKA-Low antennas 
begin installation. 

First combined signals 
from SKA-Low.

2025 

First image 
from an early 
working version 
of SKA-Low.

Kalli Station is 
added to the 
observatory 
footprint. 

CSIRO’s ASKAP radio telescope on Wajarri Country under the Milky Way.



SKA-Low telescope

The SKA-Low telescope is part of 
the SKAO – a global scientific facility 
that will deliver half a century of 
transformational science, revolutionising 
our understanding of the Universe and 
delivering benefits to society through 
global collaboration and innovation.

The SKA-Low telescope will be made up of 
131,072 two‑metre‑tall antennas, spanning out from a 
central core along three spiral arms that stretch 74 km 
end-to-end. SKA-Low will detect radio signals from 
the Universe in the frequency range of 50–350 MHz, 
similar to FM radio stations or TV signals.

In Australia, the SKAO is collaborating with CSIRO to 
build and operate the SKA-Low telescope. Institutions in 
Australia, China, India, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands and 
the UK contributed to the design of SKA-Low, and its 
components will be manufactured all over the world.

SKA-Low: revealing the 
Universe’s faintest details

Resolution: making the cosmos clearer

Both SKA telescopes can achieve higher resolution than 
a single large telescope, thanks to the large separation 
between the farthest antennas. High resolution translates 
into sharper images which reveal much finer detail.

Sensitivity: shining a light on the 
distant Universe

In radio astronomy, the sensitivity of a telescope depends 
on the collecting area available to capture signals 
from space. SKA-Low provides 400,000m2 of collecting 
area, so it can detect very faint radio signals and combine 
and enhance them in a way never before possible.

Survey speed

SKA-Low uses a technique called beamforming to 
digitally point the telescope anywhere in the sky by 
combining signals from some or all of the antennas 
in the array. The SKA-Low telescope has a huge field 
of view, allowing the telescope to survey more of the 
sky at much faster speeds than other telescopes.

SKA-Low antennas on the southern 
spiral arm of the SKA-Low telescope. 
Credit: SKAO/Max Alexander

skao.int



SKAO: a global collaboration revealing our Universe

The SKAO is an intergovernmental 
organisation whose mission is to build and 
operate cutting-edge radio telescopes on 
behalf of its member states and partners. 

The SKAO has a global footprint, bringing together 
members from across five continents. The SKA telescopes 
– the SKA-Low telescope being built on Wajarri Country in 
Western Australia and the SKA-Mid telescope being built 
in the Karoo in South Africa – together with the SKAO’s 
global headquarters in the UK, will form the largest and 
most capable radio astronomy observatory in the world.

Constructing and operating SKA-Low and SKA-Mid will 
position the SKAO as the leading research infrastructure for 
radio astronomy globally, providing science capabilities to the 
international astronomical community for decades to come.

The SKA telescopes are underpinned by the great 
scientific discoveries of the SKA precursor telescopes, 
including ASKAP and the MWA at the observatory here 
in Australia, and MeerKAT and HERA in South Africa, 
and SKA pathfinder instruments from across the globe.

SKA-Low field technicians working on antennas for the SKA-Low telescope.



Building SKA-Low

Since the SKAO marked the start 
of on-site construction in late 2022, 
SKA‑Low has been gathering speed.

The first year of construction was dedicated to preparing 
the site. Hundreds of kilometres of roads, power and 
optical fibre connections were laid, preparing the site for 
critical infrastructure at the core and spiral arms. A 176‑bed 
construction camp, gifted the Wajarri name Nyingari Ngurra, 
was built to provide accommodation to people working 
on site. A 1,200m airstrip has also been established for 
emergency access and evacuation at the SKA-Low site. 
A wastewater treatment plant and evaporation pond was 
established, reducing our environmental footprint.

March 2024 saw the first antenna built and installed for 
SKA-Low. Now more than 13,000 antennas have been 
installed across the site, with production continuing at pace.

Our central processing facility is under construction, 
where data collected from the telescope will be processed 
by on‑site supercomputers more than 60,000 times 
faster than the average home broadband speed. 
Remote processing facilities that receive signals from 
the SKA-Low’s spiral arms have been installed and are 
already processing data. These facilities link directly 
to supercomputers more than 600km away at the 
Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre in Perth. 

Remarkably, in less than three years, we now have an 
operating early working version of the telescope capable of 
producing images of the sky. The first image from the first 
1,024 antennas of SKA-Low was released in March 2025. 

SKA-Low in numbers
(at September 2025)

• Assembled and installed 13,000 antennas
• Laid 56,000 sheets of steel mesh for 
antenna stations
• Installed 330 drums of power cable 
stretching 200km
• Installed and connected 660km of fibre optic cable


SKA-Low field technicians 
install a low noise amplifier 
on an SKA‑Low antenna. 
Credit: SKAO/Max Alexander



Engaging with Wajarri Yamaji

Heritage during construction

Building SKA-Low has a low impact on the 
environment and Wajarri heritage monitors have 
been present during all initial ground‑disturbing 
activities. Heritage monitors help to ensure the 
preservation of cultural heritage and the identification 
and preservation of any cultural artefacts discovered. 
Wajarri Yamaji worked together with the SKAO 
and CSIRO to adapt the SKA-Low configuration 
to ensure the telescope and culturally significant 
sites can exist side by side at the observatory.

Fostering opportunity

Opportunities are flowing back to Wajarri 
and Mid West communities by:

• Requiring Australian contractors to engage 
with local and Wajarri businesses
• Employing Wajarri People to work on site 
directly through SKA-Low or contractors
• Encouraging partnerships between Australian 
and Wajarri businesses to bid for SKAO contracts.




Revolutionising our 
understanding of the Universe

The SKAO’s science goals are 
broad and ambitious, tackling 
some of the most fundamental 
scientific questions of our time.

The unprecedented flexibility and sensitivity of 
the SKA radio telescopes will allow astronomers 
to look back in time to the infant Universe, when 
the very first stars and galaxies began to shine.

SKA-Low will be unique in its ability to explore this 
period at large scales, mapping the structure of the 
infant Universe in exquisite detail and revealing 
information that has until now been unattainable. 
Its flexibility will enable discovery of the most 
energetic and explosive events across the cosmos.

The SKA telescopes will provide insights into 
the nature of dark matter, track gravitational 
waves, understand planet formation, and chart 
the behaviour of black holes in distant galaxies. 
They will be the most sensitive available radio 
telescope for detecting technosignatures 
– evidence of life beyond Earth.

They are part of a suite of next‑generation facilities 
that will complement each other, including the James 
Webb Space Telescope, ALMA Observatory, Extremely 
Large Telescopes and more. These facilities will 
together advance human knowledge and unravel 
the most puzzling mysteries of the Universe.



SKA-Low’s first glimpse of the Universe

An early working version of SKA-Low captured its first image in 
March 2025, using just 1024 of its planned 131,000 antennas. In an 
area of sky about 25 square degrees – equivalent to approximately 
100 full Moons – we see around 85 of the regions’ brightest 
known galaxies, each containing a supermassive black hole. 

When SKA-Low is complete the same area of sky will reveal 
much more – scientists calculate the telescope will be sensitive 
enough to show up to 600,000 galaxies in the same frame.

Moonrise over SKA-Low. Credit: CSIRO/DISR/Alex Cherney and Tom Fowler



ASKAP radio telescope

CSIRO’s latest radio telescope, ASKAP, 
is designed for fast, comprehensive 
and detailed surveys of the sky. 
ASKAP is an official precursor 
instrument to the SKA telescopes.

ASKAP is part of the Australia Telescope National Facility, 
owned and operated by CSIRO. All of ASKAP’s 36 antennas 
have been gifted a Wajarri name, selected by the Wajarri 
Yamaji to represent items of importance to Country, 
community and the telescope’s construction.

Each ASKAP antenna is a 12m wide dish with an 
advanced phased array feed receiver. The receivers 
allow for a wider view of the Universe, making ASKAP 
one of the fastest survey telescopes in the world.

Fast surveys generate an enormous amount of data 
which means supercomputing is an essential part of 
the telescope. ASKAP sends 100 trillion bits of raw data 
every second from its outback location. At the Pawsey 
Supercomputing Research Centre in Perth the raw 
data is converted into maps of the sky that are used for 
astronomical research using custom CSIRO software.

One of the main science goals of ASKAP is to study the 
origins and evolution of galaxies, which are the building 
blocks of the Universe. Over the next five years, ASKAP 
will detect tens of millions of galaxies and reveal the 
cosmic environments in which they live. This will help 
us to understand the Universe as a dynamic place that 
has evolved over 13.7 billion years – all the way from 
the Big Bang to the state in which we find it today.

A new era for astronomy

Rapid survey telescopes bring astronomy into a new era 
of discovery. ASKAP’s first all-sky survey discovered one 
million new galaxies and that was only the beginning.

Hundreds of astronomers from Australia and around the 
world have gathered into survey science teams with unique 
research goals that rely on ASKAP data. These include: 

• mapping the velocity of cosmic gas clouds
• measuring the strength of magnetic fields in space
• understanding star formation throughout cosmic history 
• discovering new phenomena throughout 
space (such as ‘odd radio circles’), and
• studying the origins of transient and variable 
sources – intermittent signals from deep 
within our own or other galaxies.


csiro.au/askap



A new era of technology

As well as making new discoveries, telescopes like ASKAP 
push the boundaries of technology. Experience gained 
with ASKAP has guided the design and construction of 
the SKA telescopes. The receiver technology has been 
developed by CSIRO for other international observatories 
and has been further purposed into a new receiver 
for Murriyang, CSIRO’s Parkes radio telescope.

But it’s not just what is on the dishes that is pushing 
boundaries. ASKAP’s torrent of survey data provides 
the motivation to develop a new generation of data 
processing methods which will be used when the 
SKA telescopes come online in the future.

Fast radio bursts 

The first fast radio burst was detected in 
data collected using Murriyang, CSIRO’s 
Parkes radio telescope. When ASKAP 
began operating, it was the best 
instrument in the world for finding them. 
Innovative use of the antennas’ wide‑field 
of view meant that more bursts could 
be discovered in one year than had 
been in the previous decade. While the 
origin of the bursts remain a mystery, 
they have been used to solve other 
long‑standing questions like how matter 
is distributed across the Universe. 

Wajarri artist Judith Anaru’s CRAFT, 2019, 
is a depiction of a fast radio burst. 

ASKAP antenna | Wajarri names

1 Biyarli | galah
2 Birliya | tree with 
edible gum
3 Bundara | star
4 Bimba | edible gum
5 Gagurla | bush pear
6 Wilara | moon
7 Irra barndi | good talk
8 Jirdilungu | milky way
9 Balayi | look out
10 Bardi | witchetty grub
11 Manggawarla | hat
12 Yalibirri | emu
13 Jabi | lizard
14 Gagu | crow
15 Birri-birri | butterfly
16 Jindi-jindi | willy wag tail
17 Marlu | kangaroo
18 Ilgarijirri | things 
belonging to the sky
19 Biji-biji | caterpillar
20 Wana | women’s 
hitting stick
21 Minda | shade
22 Nyingari | zebra finch bird
23 Nyambi | traditional dance
24 Janimaarnu | Chinese
25 Magumarra | Wajarri Elder
26 Yamaji nyarlu | woman
27 Yamaljinggu | Wajarri Elder
28 Yagu | mother
29 Diggiedumble | table top
30 Nyarluwarri | seven sisters
31 Mungal | morning
32 Woodrudda | hill in Yallalong
33 Budara | hill on Wooleen Station
34 Jinawirri | Wajarri Elder
35 Ngubanu | dingo
36 Birli | lightning


Our ASKAP radio telescope has 36 antennas and each one has its own Wajarri name.



The Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey

Survey telescopes like ASKAP provide a ‘big picture’ view of the Universe. Instead of 
studying a few objects in detail, we catalogue millions of new galaxies and other 
astronomical sources. 

We completed ASKAP’s first survey of the entire southern sky in just 300 hours, and found 
nearly three million galaxies – one million of which had never been seen before! This new 
atlas of the sky allows astronomers to expand their research horizons and discover more 
hidden secrets of the Universe.

Explore RACS at research.csiro.au/racs



Murchison Widefield Array

The Murchison Widefield Array 
(MWA) is a radio telescope made 
of 8,192 spider-like metal antennas. 

These antennas are arranged in regular grids 
known as ‘tiles’, which are spread over 30 square 
kilometres of the observatory. The MWA is an official 
precursor instrument to the SKA-Low telescope. 

The MWA is tuned to receive radio frequencies between 
70 and 300MHz, and is special for its very wide field 
of view, high angular resolution, nanosecond time 
resolution, and digital pointing agility. This makes 
the MWA invaluable for quickly mapping the sky and 
studying rare and faint events as they happen. 

Since its launch in 2013, the MWA has collected tens 
of petabytes of data which are sent over dedicated 
fibre and the National Broadband Network to Perth. 
From there, the data are accessed and analysed 
by hundreds of researchers from around the 
world using the All-Sky Virtual Observatory.

Research using the MWA is examining the Universe in 
more detail than previously possible at low frequencies. 
The MWA’s five broad areas of investigation are:

• Early Universe cosmology – searching for and 
studying the Epoch of Reionisation, the time when 
the first stars and galaxies began to light up the 
Universe approximately 13 billion years ago.
• The dynamic Universe – high-sensitivity 
surveys of the dynamic radio sky, searching for 
short‑timescale and highly variable phenomena.
• Galactic and extragalactic research – studies 
of the Milky Way and distant galaxies.
• Solar, heliospheric and ionospheric studies – 
investigating our Sun and its effect on near-Earth 
space weather, including applications such as 
improving early warnings of solar storms.
• Pulsars and fast transients – studying flashes of 
radio light in more detail than ever before.


mwatelescope.org

An artist’s impression of the ultra-long period magnetar – 
a rare type of star with extremely strong magnetic fields 
that can produce powerful bursts of energy. Credit: ICRAR



Some of the scientific achievements made 
by MWA astronomers include: 

• detecting the largest known eruption in 
the Universe since the Big Bang
• solving the century-old coronal heating problem
• putting limits on the first-ever fast radio 
burst with a traceable origin
• the breakthrough discovery of plasma tube 
structures in the Earth’s ionosphere
• involvement in the world’s first detection of gravitational 
waves and radiation from a neutron star merger
• the creation of a catalogue of 300,000 galaxies and 
the first radio-colour panorama of the Universe in 
the Galactic and Extra-Galactic All-Sky MWA and 
Extended (GLEAM and GLEAM-X) surveys, and
• the discovery of new pulsars and an 
ultra-long period magnetar.


The MWA telescope and its science have been 
developed by engineers and astrophysicists from 
across the globe. Institutes in Australia, Canada, 
China, Japan, Switzerland and the United States 
currently form the MWA Collaboration, providing 
funding and critical hardware to the telescope. 

The MWA project is led by Curtin University, and the 
telescope is maintained and remotely operated by a small 
team based at the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy. 
Funding for MWA operations is provided by the Australian 
Government via the National Collaborative Research 
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), administered by Astronomy 
Australia Limited (AAL). 

Gurlgamarnu is the Wajarri name 
given to the MWA telescope, meaning 
‘the ear that listens to the sky’. 

Engineering a telescope

MWA technology has been developed to withstand 
the challenges of the Murchison outback, including 
extreme temperatures, lightning storms, highly acidic soil, 
and curious fauna.

The MWA has grown in both size and capability over the 
years. The original prototype had 32 tiles (512 antennas) 
in 2011, which was expanded to 128 tiles (2048 antennas) 
in 2013. The next upgrade in 2016 added another 128 tiles, 
giving a total of 256 tiles (4096 antennas). These tiles 
were placed in specific patterns; two hexagonal groups 
close to the centre of the array, and the rest scattered 
far away. This doubled the resolution of the telescope 
and increased its sensitivity by a factor of 10, permitting 
the detection of finer structures and even fainter 
objects. In late 2021 the MWA received a significant 
upgrade with the replacement of its aging ‘correlator’, the 
computational engine that acts as the telescope’s ‘brain’.

This was followed by instrumentation upgrades through 
to 2025, with the deployment of a new fleet of digital 
receivers designed and built by the MWA Collaboration. 
These complement the existing receivers, and now 
allow observations with all 256 MWA antenna tiles. 
This upgrade, known as ‘Phase III’, means the MWA’s 
maximum instantaneous sensitivity is doubled and 
its data output is quadrupled, providing a clearer 
and more expansive view of the universe.




GLEAM

The Galactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA 
or ‘GLEAM’ survey is the first radio survey to 
cover a wide enough range of frequencies 
to create a map of the sky in ‘radio colour’, 
shown here by translating the low to high 
radio frequencies into red, green, and blue.

These wideband measurements allow 
astronomers to explore colliding clusters 
of galaxies, the remains of exploded stars, 
and see black holes across the Universe emit 
their first jets. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, 
is visible as a band across the middle of the 
image, and above and below, every dot is a 
galaxy, millions to billions of light years away. 

An extension to the survey, GLEAM-X, doubles 
the resolution and detects 10x as many objects. 
Find out more at mwatelescope.org/gleam, 
and explore GLEAM on your computer 
at gleamoscope.icrar.org.

Credit: Dr Natasha Hurley-Walker (ICRAR/Curtin University) and the GLEAM Team. 

The Galactic Centre, radio-bright from 
the many cosmic rays and magnetic 
fields in our Milky Way galaxy.

Centaurus A, a pair of radio-bright 
lobes produced by the central 
supermassive black hole of the 
Centaurus galaxy.

The Vela supernova remnant, 
the remains of a star that 
exploded about 12,000 years ago; 
you can see other remnants if you 
look closely!

The Small and Large 
Magellanic Clouds: 
dwarf galaxies relatively 
close to the Milky Way.



Observatory impact

Facilities like the radio telescopes 
at the observatory site create 
impact beyond science. 

Benefits at a local, national and global level are 
being delivered from the observatory and the 
instruments there, with impact across technology and 
innovation, education, society and the economy. 

Australia has been a global leader in radio astronomy 
since the emergence of the field in the 1940s. The past 
decade has seen the Australian astronomical community 
grow substantially, with the number of graduates doubling. 
Much of this growth can be attributed to Australia’s 
investment in the SKA project and the observatory site.

Technology and innovation

Landmark science facilities like those at the observatory 
have a strong track-record of facilitating the transfer 
of new technology into commercial outcomes. 

ASKAP is designed as a survey telescope, with a very 
wide field‑of-view enabled by 36 revolutionary 
receivers. The technology behind the phased 
array feed receiver has been replicated by 
CSIRO for other telescopes around the world.

Production of ASKAP’s receivers required large volumes 
of complex electronics boards to be manufactured 
to a high level of accuracy. CSIRO worked with an 
Australian high-reliability electronic assembly service 
provider to jointly develop and produce 20,000 
sophisticated electronic components required 
for ASKAP’s digital systems. This partnership has 
contributed to the expansion of the company’s 
production base and enhanced domestic capability. 

Developing cutting-edge technology for the SKA 
project is also exposing Australian businesses to 
new skills and capabilities. WA-based company AVI 
is manufacturing ‘SMART boxes’ to manage fibre 
optic signals and power for the SKA-Low antennas. 
This represents the largest contract for the SKA-Low 
telescope in Australia, outside of on-site infrastructure. 

The original design of the SMART boxes was first produced 
by the Curtin University node of the International Centre for 
Radio Astronomy Research, where engineers drew on their 
experience in the Murchison Widefield Array’s development 
and construction to produce a system that met the SKA 
project’s unprecedented electromagnetic interference 
specifications. AVI has refined the design for large scale 
production and to match the challenges presented by 
the environmental conditions at the observatory.

The CSIRO-designed receivers on ASKAP have 
been replicated for telescopes around the world.



Social impact

Sustainability is a foundational value of observatory activities 
for both CSIRO and the SKAO. ASKAP and the MWA are 
powered by a solar-hybrid power station, and the SKA-Low 
telescope’s long-term hybrid power station is scheduled to 
begin construction in 2026. The SKAO and its partners are 
also helping to address global challenges by contributing to 
some of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 
to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. 

In collaboration the Wajarri Yamaji Aboriginal Corporation, 
CSIRO and the SKAO work to preserve and promote Wajarri 
knowledge, culture and heritage. The Wajarri community 
have been observing the night sky and expressing what 
they see through stories and artwork for thousands 
of years. Some of this history is represented in the 2024 
art exhibition Cosmic Echoes, featuring paintings and 
stories from Wajarri Yamaji and South African artists. 

ASKAP, the MWA and the construction of the SKA-Low 
telescope are also helping to generate an interest in 
STEM subjects as future generations of students are 
inspired by discoveries enabled by these instruments 
and Australia’s role in hosting part of the SKA project.

Local benefits 

Observatory operations and construction of the 
SKA-Low telescope provide opportunities for local 
companies. Australian company Ventia was awarded 
the infrastructure contract for SKA-Low in 2022, 
bringing employment and contracting opportunities 
for local and Indigenous people and businesses. 
Local and medium-sized businesses are also 
contributing to telescope construction – Ventia has 
awarded sub-contracts and established accounts 
with more than 80 businesses in Western Australia. 

The observatory also fosters job creation for the 
Wajarri community, through both direct employment 
in the ASKAP operations and SKA-Low teams, as well 
as through contracting and business opportunities. 
The SKAO and Australian Government have required 
that Australian contractors engage with local and 
Wajarri Yamaji businesses in delivering their work. 
Ventia and Wajarri Enterprises Limited, a sustainable 
business enterprise established for the benefit of 
Wajarri People, also established a Joint Venture 
partnership. This partnership was awarded a contract 
by the SKAO to manage the SKA-Low construction 
village, Nyingari Ngurra, where 180 telescope staff and 
contractors are accommodated while working on site. 

The observatory also provides infrastructure 
benefits to the region, such as fibre connectivity for 
communities local to the observatory – the Murchison 
Settlement and the Pia Wadjarri community.

Ventia is providing the power 
and fibre for the SKA-Low 
telescope, and some of 
the computer processing 
facilities. Credit: Ventia.



The radio 
quiet zone

Radio telescopes are designed to detect faint natural 
radio signals from space, but this also makes them very 
sensitive to the interference caused by human‑made radio 
transmissions. This radio frequency interference can be 
caused by radio transmitters such as mobile phones, two-way 
radios and broadcasting towers, or by electrical equipment 
such as vehicles, appliances or electrical machinery.

The main reason to build an observatory in such a remote 
location is to avoid Earth-based radio transmissions 
that interfere with sensitive radio astronomy receivers. 
In the same way that it is necessary for us to avoid 
city street lights when trying to observe the night 
sky with our eyes, radio astronomers must distance 
themselves from radio communications networks that 
allow mobile phones and other services to operate

The radio quiet zone was established by the Australian 
and Western Australian Governments to protect 
this unique radio astronomy site, ensuring radio 
astronomy receivers can operate with limited impact 
from harmful radio interference, while allowing 
opportunities for coexistence with other activities.

Centred on the observatory, the radio quiet zone is a 
circular area 520 km wide. Within the radio quiet zone 
signal levels from radio transmitters and electrical devices 
are controlled to limit interference to radio telescopes. 
Within the inner 70 km radius area of the radio quiet zone, 
radio astronomy is the primary radio-communications 
activity, with other activities considered secondary. 

Image: These plots show the radio noise at three Australian 
locations. The horizontal axis is frequency (the same for 
all three) and the vertical axis is the strength of the radio 
noise detected. Sydney is the noisiest location, Narrabri, home 
of CSIRO’s Australia Telescope Compact Array, is better, and 
the Murchison is much better again. (Note the strength shown 
is not linear but in decibels.)

Powering the 
observatory

As part of CSIRO’s long-term commitment to Australian 
astronomical research and future energy technology, 
a dedicated power station has been constructed for 
the existing telescopes at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, 
the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory.

The station consists of a 1.85 MW solar array, a lithium‑ion 
battery that can store 2.5 MWh of electrical energy, 
and four diesel generators. It is the world’s first 
hybrid-renewable facility to power a large remote 
astronomical observatory. It was built in partnership 
with Horizon Power and Energy Made Clean. 

CSIRO modelling indicates that using this photovoltaic 
system and storage battery saves up to 800,000 litres 
of diesel a year and cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 
about 2,000 tonnes a year. What makes this power station 
unique is the CSIRO-designed shielding. The shielding 
keeps electromagnetic interference to levels that 
don’t harm the radio astronomy observations.

The SKA-Low telescope will require an additional 3 MW of 
power at the observatory, intended to be sourced by an 
additional hybrid-renewable power station. 



Precursors 
control building

The precursors control building houses on-site computing 
facilities, called correlators, for ASKAP and the MWA.

The 8,000 fibre optic cables across the observatory 
transport signals from the antennas to the control building.

ASKAP antennas send analog radio signals through 
the optical fibres to the building, where they are 
converted to digital signals and combined to make 
the 36 antennas into one giant telescope. 

The MWA correlator uses off-the-shelf fast computing 
hardware to combine signals from 256 tiles of antennas. 

The control building also houses chillers that extract waste 
heat from the correlators and transfer it underground 
maximising cooling efficiency and minimising energy usage. 

The control building doorways are an airlock-style pair of 
doors. The massive steel doors seal tightly shut to ensure 
that the radio frequency emissions from the computers 
inside can’t escape outside to pollute the radio-quiet 
environment of the site. The control building also 
includes workshops where maintenance is conducted 
on ASKAP’s electronic systems, including the receivers, 
correlator electronics, plus the networking and computing 
equipment that keeps the observatory operating.

Similar buildings are under construction across the 
observatory for the SKA-Low telescope – a large central 
processing facility near the core and many smaller 
remote processing facilities along the spiral arms. 

EDGES

The EDGES experiment led by Arizona State University has 
been operating at the observatory since 2009. The goal of 
EDGES is to study the first stars and galaxies. These objects 
formed when the Universe was less than 500 million years 
old, more than 13 billion years ago. The assumption might 
be that EDGES looks for light from early stars, but it actually 
looks for the cosmic fingerprints of early star formation. 
When stars first formed, they altered primordial hydrogen 
gas that filled the early Universe, leaving a tiny imprint 
in the radio spectrum that we can still see today.



We acknowledge the Wajarri Yamaji as Traditional Owners 
and Native Title Holders of Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, 
the CSIRO Murchison Radio‑astronomy Observatory.

csiro.au/mro

Front cover: A cluster of the SKA Observatory’s SKA-Low telescope under construction.

Susan Merry, 
Our Home, 2023

“Our home: years ago 
our old people used to 
walk everywhere hunting 
for food and water.

Our home: we used to live 
on Boolardy and go and stay 
at the top shed. My uncle 
and brothers and other 
family members used to go 
mustering sheep for shearing.

Today all you can see are the 
antennas large and small, 
with the wildflowers and 
hands representing that we 
all come as one on Land.”

– Susan Merry, 2023

Susan Merry, Our Home, 2023. The SKAO Council assisted in the creation of this 
artwork during their visit to the observatory site in 2023.