Italy ratifies SKA convention

Two down, three to go to set up intergovernmental organisation to run global telescope facility

Italy has become the second nation to ratify the convention that will create an international organisation to run the world’s largest radio telescope, bringing the massive infrastructure project closer to completion.

The Square Kilometre Array is due to consist of around 3,000 15-metre-wide dishes in South Africa and Australia, making it one of the most important astronomical facilities in the world. But first the private, non-profit company that has been running the project to date—called the SKA Organisation—has to become a fully fledged intergovernmental organisation called the SKA Observatory.