CAI with SKACH at Fantasy Basel
For the first time this year, the «Square Kilometre Array Observatory» (SKAO), the world’s biggest radio telescope, was presented at Fantasy Basel. As member of the Swiss SKA consortium (SKACH), ZHAW (CAI) researchers helped in communicating the science behind the telescope to over 80,000 visitors.
Fantasy Basel – the Swiss Comic-Con – is Switzerland’s largest convention for pop culture, including gaming, cosplay, comics, sci-fi and space science exhibitions. With over 80,000 expected visitors, this year’s event on Ascension weekend promised to be the largest yet.
For the first time this year, SKACH was invited to contribute to the annual Swiss Space Museum stage. SKACH is the Swiss SKA consortium which, in January 2022, officially joined a great adventure, the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO), an intergovernmental organization building the world’s biggest radio telescope to unlock some of the greatest mysteries of the universe. Philipp Denzel (Senior Researcher, IVS group, CAI), Frank-Peter Schilling (IVS group leader, CAI), and Elena Gavagnin (SKACH board member, CAI associate, IWI) are part of the SKACH consortium, funded by SERI, performing research on using generative deep learning methods to relate observational data and astrophysical properties of galaxies.
Spanning the arc from science fiction to science and space travel, the program included guest lectures, panel discussions, and stands where visitors could talk to astronomers, astrophysicists, planetary, and space scientists. SKACH is the Swiss SKA consortium which, in January 2022, officially joined a great adventure, the Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO), an intergovernmental organization building the world’s biggest radio telescope to unlock some of the greatest mysteries of the universe.
At the SKACH booth, Carolyn Crichton (consortium director) and Tanya Petersen (communications) were joined by Shreyam Krishna (EPFL) and Philipp Denzel (Senior Researcher, IVS group, ZHAW CAI), and honorary SKACH member Susanne Wampfler (University of Bern) who gave an amazing introduction into radio astronomy, the SKA telescope, and astrochemistry. Over an exhausting but amazing 3 days, they had exciting encounters with many interested visitors who got to learn everything they ever wanted about radio astronomy, artificial intelligence, planets, stars, galaxies, black holes and more.
As a special highlight, Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier attended the convention. Many took the opportunity to chat one-to-one with the first and only Swiss to space.