July 12, 2011 11:22 pm EDT

SKA radio telescope to pump out more data than the internet in 2020, spot ALF before he lands

Unfortunately for Desmond Dekker fans, this SKA telescope has nothing to do with the Jamaican music sensation. No, the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope has much more otherworldly concerns, and according to the director of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), Peter Quinn, it should have the internet beat in terms of data when it goes online in 2020. The telescope, which will end up in either Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa, is aimed at searching for Earth-like planets, extraterrestrial life, dark matter, and black holes, and will require a central supercomputer with "the processing power of one billion PCs." What's more, it is expected to be 10,000 times more powerful than any telescope in existence and "generate the same amount of data in a day as the entire planet does in a year." We say anything that gets us closer to having our very own hairy, Hawaiian-shirt sporting alien on hand is well worth the $2.1 billion it will cost to create. Willy!

SKA radio telescope to pump out more data than the internet in 2020, spot ALF before he lands originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Original Link: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/12/ska-radio-telescope-to-pump-out-more-data-than-the-internet-in-2/

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