Oral Presentation Astronomical Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting including HWWS 2013

The MWA All-sky Survey (#23)

Randall Wayth 1
  1. Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia

The extraordinary field of view of the MWA gives it impressive survey capabilities. The GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA (GLEAM) survey will cover the entire sky visible to the MWA over a range of radio frequencies yielding a comprehensive census of the low frequency radio sky.

GLEAM will allow astronomers to study a wide range of astrophysical objects, from the very small (pulsars and their wind nebulae) to the very large (cosmic ray acceleration mechanisms in galaxy clusters). Local to our Galaxy, GLEAM will enable astronomers to study Galactic magnetism, supernova remnants and the interstellar medium in unprecedented detail. On cosmic scales, GLEAM will allow astronomers to find and study the most distant radio sources, advancing our understanding of the evolution of the Universe during its early times.

The exceptional survey speed of the MWA will enable astronomers to regularly revisit large regions of the sky, thereby allowing studies of the radio sky in the time domain. The MWA is unrivaled in its ability to systematically study large regions of the sky for transient and variable radio sources, thereby opening a new domain of astronomy that complements similar programs on optical and other telescopes.