SKAO : the French astrophysics community gathers at the Paris Observatory-PSL

8 juin 2026 SKAO : the French astrophysics community gathers at the Paris Observatory-PSL

From 19 to 21 May 2026, nearly 200 scientists, engineers and radio astronomy enthusiasts gathered at the Paris-PSL Observatory on the Meudon campus for the conference ‘SKA : an observatory for the whole community’. This event marked an important milestone in the French community’s preparations for the scientific operation of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), the future largest radio astronomy observatory in the world, resulting from an international coalition bringing together countries from five continents.


Organised at the initiative of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Specialised Commission (CSAA), the conference aimed to bring together all the communities likely to benefit from SKAO data, extending well beyond the field of radio astronomy alone. Discussions focused on the scientific opportunities offered by this next-generation global infrastructure, as well as the technological challenges associated with processing unprecedented volumes of data.

Hosted at the Paris Observatory-PSL, the meeting also brought together several leading international figures from the SKAO. It demonstrates the strong commitment of the French community as the observatory’s gradual commissioning approaches, and its determination to play a major role in this scientific venture at the interface of astrophysics, digital technology and high-performance computing.

Photo de groupe lors de la conférence SKA
Crédits : Philippe Zarka