Kristine Spekkens, Alice Curtin, Alex Hill, Greg Sivakoff

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the largest and most powerful radio telescope in the world, with one of the broadest science cases of any observatory. The SKA Observatory(SKAO) consists of two telescopes that are currently under construction: SKA-Low (30-350 MHz) in Western Australia, and SKA-Mid (350 MHz – 15+ GHz) in South Africa. In 2024 Canada joined the SKAO as a full member, with the aim of securing a 6% use-share, as recommended by LRP2020, by providing construction and operations funding, in-kind hardware to SKA-Mid, a Canadian SKA Regional Data Centre (can|SRC), and associated user support.

All of these aspects of Canada and the SKA have progressed significantly in the last year, with the start of science commissioning on SKA-Low and the first interferometric observations from SKA-Mid, progress towards building the requisite capacity and functionality for can|SRC and the international SRC Network, and new SKA-focused hires within NRC through the Canadian SKA Scientist Program. National and international SKA activities will continue to ramp up in 2027, with the availability of the first SKA Science Verification data. A community call for observing ideas is expected in early 2027, with the public release of science data products and calibrated data for community and SKAO-selected targets anticipated by the end of next year.

This SKA update focuses on highlighting recent community events organised in Canada and by the SKAO for its global community that provide detailed information on the state of the project and how astronomers can get involved.

The first Canadian SKA Community Day took place on 28 May 2026, with an afternoon of remote talks and in-person watch parties organised at McGill University, the University of Toronto, the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, and the University of British Columbia. Presentations focussed on an introduction to the project, a summary of Canadian SKA contributions, the status of the Canadian SKA Regional Data Centre, the SKA in the broader Canadian radio astronomy context, early science observations with the SKA, and a moderated question and answer period. Slides and video recordings (modulo some minor technical glitches) from the Community Day are accessible from the CASCA ACACS webpage.

The first annual Canadian Radio Astronomy Summer Institute and Extended School (CRASIES)  took place from 25-28 May 2026 at McGill University, as part of the Radio Astronomy-Driven Education and Training Excellence program (NSERC CREATE-funded with PI Adrian Liu). With just under 40 early-career researchers (primarily MSc and PhD students), the school focussed on the fundamentals of radiation and radio instrumentation at >cm wavelengths, with significant time spent discussing applications of these techniques for different science interests as well as hands-on experience building and taking data with a wok telescope. The school was primarily organized by SKA Scientist Dr. Alice Curtin, with lectures taught by a mixture of faculty and postdoctoral scholars. Lecture materials are accessible from the CASCA ACACS webpage.

The SKAO has started a regular webinar series and accompanying newsletter for the global scientific community that provide project updates and details on how astronomers can get involved. Each set of webinar presentations are given twice to ensure that a global audience can listen live, with presentations and recordings made publicly available. The next webinars will be held on 15 July 2026, for which registration is open now. Astronomers who are interested in engaging more deeply in SKA science are encouraged to join one of 13 SKA Science Working Groups, which are open to all researchers.

Five McGill undergraduate students trying to measure the rotation of our Milky Way galaxy using the Wok they built during CRASIES. From left to right Chloé Leagué, Maya Smith, Audréanne Bernier, Marek Detiére-Venkatesh, and Rémi Tellier.
Image credit: Anabel Q. Tan

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