Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory

Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory

Close up of an ASKAP antenna with several more in the background
Alternative names	MRO
Location	Boolardy, Western Australia, AUS
Coordinates	26°42′11″S 116°40′14″E / 26.70312°S 116.670575°E / -26.70312; 116.670575
Established	2009
Telescopes	Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder Experiment to Detect the Global EoR Signature Murchison Widefield Array
Location of Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory
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Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory was established by CSIRO, Australia's national science centre in 2009. It lies in a designated radio quiet zone located near Boolardy Station in the Murchison Shire of Western Australia, about 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Perth on the traditional lands of the Wajarri people.

It is one of two core sites for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, the other being located in South Africa. As part of this project, there have been two technology and science pathfinders, both established by 2012:

• the radio telescopes known as the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), a low-frequency array operating in the frequency range 80–300 MHz; and
• the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP).

Construction on the main large SKA-Low telescope started in December 2022.

Several smaller experiments (CORE, EDGES, PAPER and SCOPE), unrelated to SKA project, are also sited at the observatory.