telescopes currently in the world, taking up 1 million square metres of collecting area, or one square kilometre. Cosmic magnetism It is still not possible to answer basic questions about the origin and evolution of cosmic magnetic fields, but it is clear that they are an important component of interstellar and intergalactic space. By mapping the effects of magnetism on the radiation from very distant galaxies, the SKA will investigate the form of cosmic magnetism and the role it has played in the evolving Universe. Search for extraterrestrial life This key science program, called "Cradle of Life", will focus on three objectives: observing protoplanetary discs in habitable zones, searching for prebiotic chemistry, and contributing to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). The SKA will be able to probe the habitable zone of Sun-like protostars, where Earth-like planets or moons are most likely to have environments favourable for the development of life. The signatures of forming Earth-like planets imprinted on circumstellar dust may be the most conspicuous evidence of their presence and evolution, and may even detect planets capable of supporting life. Astrobiologists will also use the SKA to search for complex organic compounds (carbon-containing chemicals) in outer space, including amino acids, by identifying spectral lines at specific frequencies. The SKA will be capable of detecting extremely weak radio emission "leakage" from nearby extraterrestrial civilizations, if they exist. See also Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope KARST – a 1990s Chinese proposal to host the SKA List of radio telescopes LOFAR Mills Cross Telescope – related to the SKA development Simon Ratcliffe Project Cyclops References External links International SKA website SKA on Scholarpedia Australia/NZ SKA Australia web site "Inside the Square Kilometre Array", Cosmos magazine online, January 2012 "The Square Kilometre Array Category", The Conversation, 2011/12 Boolardy Station and the Murchison Radio-Astronomy Observatory (MRO) – University of Western Australia Photographs from the Boolardy site, June 2010 A Trojan Affair - Novel about the SKA Canada Canadian SKA Consortium web site Europe SKA Design Studies web site South Africa SKA South Africa web site Other Astrobiology Proposed telescopes Radio telescopes Science and technology in South Africa Science and technology in Western Australia Interferometric telescopes