29-816: The Irwin River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia . It was named on 9 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey , while on his second disastrous exploration expedition along the Western Australian coast. Grey named the river after his friend Major Frederick Irwin , the Commandant of the Swan River settlement. The headwaters of the Irwin are located below Canna near Pindar . The river flows west until discharging into Arurine Bay near Dongara . The river passes through
58-744: Is a radio telescope project undertaken by an international working group, beginning in September 1993. In 2012 it was decided that two sites would be used for the telescopes, one at the Murchison site in Australia and the other in South Africa, while the organisation's headquarters would be located in the UK. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) are seen as precursors to
87-577: Is a sparsely populated region extending from the west coast of Western Australia , about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton and inland to 450 kilometres (280 mi) east of Wiluna in the Gibson Desert . It has a total area of 285,497 square kilometres (110,231 sq mi), and a permanent population of about 54,000 people, more than half of those in Geraldton. The western portion of this region
116-514: Is the regional hub, having road and railway facilities leading to the port. Formerly Geraldton was connected by a private railway to Perth, and the government railway system connected via Mullewa. In February 2021, the creation of five new conservation parks within the traditional lands of the Badimia people in the Mount Magnet area, covering over 114,000 ha (280,000 acres), was announced by
145-572: The Coalseam Conservation Park to the north of Mingenew which has a mixed geology of siltstones , claystones and sandstones that form stripes in the cliff faces formed by the river. The river has four tributaries : Lockier River, Sand Plain Creek, Nangetty Creek and Mullewa Creek. The river occasionally floods as it did in 1945 following a severe storm that swept over the area. The river broke its banks and caused extensive damage including
174-548: The Government of Western Australia , to be jointly managed between the traditional owners and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions ' Parks and Wildlife Service. The allocated land includes portions of two former pastoral leases , Lakeside and Burnerbinmah, as well as Crown land at Kirkalocka and White Wells. There are many significant Aboriginal sites of significance as well as other historic sites within
203-548: The Wajarri people. It is one of two core sites for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, the other being located in South Africa. As part of this project, there have been two technology and science pathfinders, both established by 2012: Construction on the main large SKA-Low telescope started in December 2022. Several smaller experiments (CORE, EDGES , PAPER and SCOPE), unrelated to SKA project, are also sited at
232-585: The Wajarri language . This telescope comprises 100,000 antennas built across 74 km (46 mi). Bulldozers are expected to start working on the site in early 2023, with the estimated completion date in 2028. Several smaller experiments (CORE, EDGES , PAPER and SCOPE) are being sited at MRO. The Experiment to Detect the Global EoR (Epoch of Reionization) Signature (EDGES) is a radio telescope being developed by MIT Haystack Observatory and Arizona State University (ASU) to make accurate measurements of
261-534: The Australian Government have been working with the Wajarri Yamatji people to enable the projects to proceed while respecting the cultural needs of the traditional owners of the land, and also to deliver some benefits to them, in particular the tiny and remote Pia Wajarri Aboriginal community, next to Boolardy Station. For several years leading up to 2020, negotiations have been taking place ahead of
290-540: The CSIRO and the shire council have been investigating and discussing various internet connectivity possibilities with the shire, such as a small mobile network , or the use of optical fibre . The CSIRO purchased the 340,000-hectare (840,000-acre) Boolardy Station for A$ 5.42 million in 2009, then a working cattle station. Then called, the Murchison Radio-Astronomy Observatory, it was founded by
319-744: The CSIRO in 2009, near Boolardy, a former cattle station in Western Australia. By 2012, it comprised the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and the ASKAP radio telescope. In 2022, the observatory was expanded to become Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory - now 27 times bigger than the initial Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory - to accommodate the SKA-Low telescope. CSIRO and
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#1732855982696348-510: The Earth's ionosphere , and to study radio transient phenomena . The MWA is the first so-called large-N array, fully cross-correlating signals from 128 phased tiles of 16 crossed dipoles (each). The field of view is large by the standard of astronomical instruments, being on the order of 30 degrees across. The Square Kilometre Array , commonly referred to as SKA, the SKA Project or SKA Programme,
377-546: The Mid West in 2013 was AU$ 6,000,000,000 (AU$ 6bn). On 25 August 2015 The Hon. Terry Redman , MLA, Minister for Regional Development, launched the "Mid West Regional Blueprint"; an aspirational growth and development plan created by the Mid West Development Commission for the region. The Blueprint proposes strategies against five priority pillars to drive or reduce barriers to, regional growth and development in
406-627: The Mid West. The Blueprint strategies are intended to focus on the region's key strengths and the identification of regional opportunities, providing a guide for regional development to 2050. Due to its relative isolation from radio-frequency interference , the Mid West region was selected to host one of two primary radiotelescope locations of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. When fully operational in 2024, this AU$ 2bn project will be 50 times more sensitive than any existing radio interferometer instrument; it will generate more data than
435-774: The SKA telescope to the MRO support facility in Geraldton and to the Pawsley Supercomputing Centre in Perth, Western Australia. Located at Yatharagga, 40 km from Mingenew (100 km SE of Geraldton), the WA Space Centre is an $ 8,000,000 114 ha satellite park owned and operated by Space Australia, a subsidiary company of the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC). The park is located in one of several Radio Quiet Zones in
464-554: The approval of the observatory's governing body. The enhanced radio-quiet zone adds a second zone, effectively extending the license approval governing area from a radius of 70 km to 150 km (93 mi). As of December 2020 , the outer "coordination" zone extends for a radius of 260 km (160 mi). Within the radio quiet zone, there are restrictions on all radio communications equipment, including television transmitters , mobile phones , CB radios , and other devices, so as not to interfere with radio telescopes . As of 2020,
493-532: The cultural significance of the area, and how to build the infrastructure with minimal disruption to the landscape. Surveys of heritage sites have been undertaken, but the work and negotiations were somewhat disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic . The Wajarri people are able to move freely across the land, so long as they respect the radio silence. With the Boolardy Station no longer in use as a cattle station since
522-546: The current global Internet traffic and be capable of surveying the sky more than ten thousand to a million times faster than what is possible today. The radiotelescope antennae and the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) are located near Boolardy , Western Australia, approximately 315 km northeast of Geraldton, with logistics and science support provided by CSIRO from their facilities in Geraldton. High-capacity optical fibre cables connect
551-554: The economy is dominated by mining of iron ore, gold, nickel and other mineral resources. Geraldton is an important hub for the tourism industry. The Mid West also has the highest value fishing industry in Western Australia, with Geraldton the hub of the Western Rock Lobster industry. Western Rock Lobster netted almost $ 234.5 million in revenue for WA in the 2012–13 financial year, making it Australia's most valuable single-species wild capture fishery. Gross Regional Product for
580-494: The loss of 450 sheep that were swept away from a farm that straddled the river. 29°15′35″S 114°55′7″E / 29.25972°S 114.91861°E / -29.25972; 114.91861 This article related to a river in Western Australia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mid West (Western Australia) The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia . It
609-525: The main SKA telescope, with both of these (along with the South African MeerKAT and HERA telescopes) providing useful scientific information while at the same time aiding in assisting the final design, development and testing of the main SKA telescope. The construction phase of the main telescope at this site began on 5 December 2022, celebrated with a ceremony. The site has been named Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, meaning "sharing sky and stars" in
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#1732855982696638-477: The new parks. Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory was established by CSIRO , Australia's national science centre in 2009. It lies in a designated radio quiet zone located near Boolardy Station in the Murchison Shire of Western Australia , about 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Perth on the traditional lands of
667-637: The observatory, at the Murchison Settlement , is one idea under consideration. The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) was built by CSIRO and comprises 36 identical antennas , each 12 metres in diameter, working together as a single instrument. ASKAP's combination of fast survey speed and high sensitivity will allow astronomers to answer some fundamental questions about the creation and early evolution of our Universe, and to test theories of cosmic magnetism and predictions from Albert Einstein 's general theory of relativity . The facility
696-576: The observatory. The observatory was designated a protected radio quiet zone by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in April 2005, and in July 2011, an enhanced radio-quiet zone was imposed. The initial radio-quiet zone (renamed to the "inner zone") was a protected zone in a 70-kilometre (43 mi) radius around the observatory, in which all radio apparatus licences needed to be made with
725-415: The owners left the region around 2014, the loss of seasonal work in cattle mustering , as well reduced pest control and reduction in community activities has been felt by the people living in the area. The neighbouring Wooleen Station has facilities for guests, and the owners are working with local governments to develop its tourism potential. An interpretive centre situated 100 km (62 mi) from
754-645: The region, making it an ideal location for radioastronomy. The SSC is the largest commercial operator of satellite tracking ground station facilities. The facilities include compounds operated by NASA , The European Space Agency , CSIRO , MOBLAS and VLBI, amongst others. The local government areas in the Mid West region are Carnamah , Chapman Valley , Coorow , Cue , Greater Geraldton , Irwin , Meekatharra , Mingenew , Morawa , Mount Magnet , Murchison , Northampton , Perenjori , Sandstone , Three Springs and Yalgoo . In 1 June 2021 Shire of Wiluna officially joined Goldfields-Esperance region. Geraldton
783-505: The signing of an Indigenous land use agreement between the Wajarri people and the CSIRO, guided by the federal Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (now the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources). About 15 traditional owners are involved in the negotiations, representing different groups within the Wajarri. There are challenges involved in working out how to respect
812-507: Was formally opened on 5 October 2012. The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a joint project between an international consortium of universities to build a low-frequency radio array operating in the frequency range 80–300 MHz. The main scientific goals of the MWA are to detect neutral atomic Hydrogen emission from the cosmological Epoch of Reionization (EoR), to study the Sun , the heliosphere ,
841-416: Was known earlier as "The Murchison" based on the river of the same name , and the similarly named Goldfield. The Mid West region has a diversified economy that varies with the geography and climate. Near the coast, annual rainfall of between 400 and 500 millimetres (16 and 20 in) allows intensive agriculture. Further inland, annual rainfall decreases to less than 250 millimetres (10 in), and here
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