Figure 1

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Figure 1. The VLA in one of its more compact antenna array configurations.
The 27 antennas are moveable on rail tracks, and different configurations
are used to obtain different spatial samplings of incoming cosmic radiation.

Figure 2a. An example of a possible SKA configuration. In this model,
patches of collecting area (stations) extend from a dense core in a
log-spiral arrangement. The pattern continues to baselines of ~3000 km.
The huge number of SKA sensors gives excellent spatial sampling characteristics
without the need to periodically relocate antennas.

Figure 2b. An artist’s impression of the SKA core region, with planar-aperture
arrays and dishes visible. All the sensor technologies will share wide band
communication as well as signal processing and
data-processing infrastructures.

Figure 3. A view of the SKA as an information and communications technology
(ICT) machine. Signals from a variety of different types of electromagnetic-field
sensors (antennas and receivers) are transported and processed via
common machinery. Sensors are chosen largely on the basis of their
performance-to-cost ratio within particular frequency bands.

 - January 2019 -                                                                                                #259