ASTRON Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, together with the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), will organize and host the third International SKA Forum on Tuesday 15 June in the province of Drenthe, the Netherlands. This will be the first time that the International SKA Forum will be held in Europe. It will be a unique opportunity to develop further European and global collaboration in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. The choice of the Netherlands as host of the International SKA Forum confirms the prominent position this country has in the field of radio astronomy.

The International SKA Forum 2010 will highlight the many opportunities SKA offers to all sectors of society, and aims to advance the process of securing wide support and significant European and global funding for the project.

More information about the International SKA Forum 2010: http://www.astron.nl/iskaf2010

Inauguration of the LOFAR Telescope

The International SKA Forum takes place alongside various other events, including the formal inauguration of the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT) on the 12th of June in Exloo, the Netherlands. The LOFAR (the Low Frequency Array) telescope, a pathfinder for the SKA, is designed and built by ASTRON.

The conference is expected to attract several hundred delegates from across the globe, including leading radio astronomers, parliamentarians and funding agency officials involved in the development of the SKA.

The SKA program is a global collaboration involving 70 institutions in 20 different countries. ASTRON, with the support of NWO, is a leading member of the SKA program, playing a crucial role in defining the science case and developing advanced technologies that will be required in order to realize the new telescope.

Invitation for a Special Press Day for a Special Project and a Special Conference

ASTRON and NWO cordially invite members of the news media to an informative press meeting on Wednesday 12 May in the Netherlands, in honor of the International SKA Forum 2010 and the formal inauguration of the International LOFAR telescope in June.

The headlines of the program for the press day on 12 May are:

* 10.30 – 11.00 am: arrival at National Parc Dwingelderveld and reception at ASTRON in Dwingeloo.

* 11.00 am – 12.00 pm: welcome by ASTRON management, followed by an explanation of the International SKA Forum 2010 and the formal inauguration of the new LOFAR telescope.

* 12.00 – 1.00 pm: trip by VIP bus to the central LOFAR field between Exloo and Buinen. ASTRON kindly offers you a lunch on the way.

* 1.00 – 2.00 pm: tour by ASTRON scientists at the LOFAR telescope and possibility of conducting interviews.

* 2.00-2.45 pm: continue to Westerbork by VIP bus

* 2.45 – 3.45 pm: viewing of the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and the new aperture antenna array technology in Westerbork. Here you will also have the opportunity to interview ASTRON scientists.

* 4.30 pm: closing and return to visitor’s center of the National Parc Dwingelderveld.

If you have questions about this press invitation and/or would like to attend the press meeting, please contact Femke Boekhorst (details above). ASTRON will help you arrange accommodation, if necessary.

About ASTRON (www.astron.nl): ASTRON is the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy. Its mission is to make discoveries in radio astronomy happen, via the development of novel and innovative technologies, the operation of world-class radio astronomy facilities, and the pursuit of fundamental astronomical research. ASTRON is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

About NWO (www.nwo.nl): The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) is the national funding body for scientific research and its mission is to facilitate excellent scientific research in the Netherlands by means of national competition. Each year NWO allocates more than 700 million euro to grants for top researchers, innovative instruments and equipment, and institutes where top research is carried out. NWO funds the research of more than 5300 talented researchers at universities and institutes. Independent experts select funding proposals in a peer review process. NWO facilitates the transfer of knowledge to society.

About the SKA (www.skatelescope.org): The Square Kilometre Array will be the leading international radio telescope for the 21st Century. The total collecting area will be approximately one square kilometer giving 50 times the sensitivity, and 10,000 times the survey speed, of the best current-day telescopes. More than 70 institutes in 20 different countries, together with industry partners, are participating in the scientific and technical design of the SKA telescope. The construction of the telescope is expected to begin in 2013 with a target cost of O1.5 billion. The SKA will address fundamental unanswered questions about our Universe including how the first stars and galaxies formed after the Big Bang, how galaxies have evolved since then, the role of magnetism in the cosmos, the nature of gravity, and the search for life beyond Earth.

About LOFAR (www.lofar.nl): LOFAR, the Low Frequency Array, is designed and built by ASTRON. LOFAR exists of about 25,000 antennas, spread over fields (stations) in a large central area of approximately 400 hectare between Exloo and Buinen in the Netherlands, and in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. LOFAR stations in other countries have also been built and more are added. All stations are connected with a supercomputer by glass fibers. In this way, the system is actually a giant telescope with a diameter of 100 kilometers in the Netherlands and over 1,000 kilometers when the international stations are connected. The LOFAR telescope opens a new window to the Universe, by observing at very low radio frequencies. Compared to conventional radio telescopes, LOFAR can map very large parts of the sky. By observing tens of millions of sources, it is expected new phenomena will be discovered.