A 21 cm window to the universe: introducing the BINGO collaboration

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The BINGO (Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations)is a 40 m dish transit radio telescope currently under construction in the countryside of the state of Paraiba, Brazil. Amilcar Queiroz, one of the project leads at University Federal de Campina Grande (UFCG), highlights the relevance of the project: “The BINGO radio telescope is a cornerstone for the scientific and technological development of the state of Paraiba. The local population is very enthusiastic about the project. We have also been carrying many outreach activities in schools and squares of small towns. It is being stimulating to us to see how the young generation in Paraiba is willing to engage in the project and other technological developments”.

Carlos A. Wuensche, vice-coordinator of BINGO and responsible for the instrument construction states that “BINGO is the largest telescope ever built in Brazil, with most of its subsystems designed and built in Brazil. Building the telescope has required a technological expertise and integration of various areas within the Brazilian academy and industry. Finishing and integrating the subsystems with little delay, during the pandemics, was a challenge in itself”.

BINGO main funding partners are FAPESP (São Paulo State Foundation for Research Support), Paraiba government and the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation NNFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China) and Yang Zhou University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, from China.

More information about the collaboration can be found at the BINGO portal:

https://bingotelescope.org/releases/3-aug-2022/