News: This session accepts ePosters from the community presenting AA2 SV ideas. More information to come!

The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will soon enter a crucial phase with Science Verification (SV) AA2 beginning in 2027 for the SKA-Low telescope and in 2029 for SKA-Mid. SV is conceived as a full dress rehearsal of the end-to-end system, ensuring that telescope modes, pipelines, and user pathways meet the needs of both operational and scientific users while delivering an early science return. A dedicated call for SV ideas will be issued in late 2026 for SKA-Low AA2 (68 stations and up to 65 km baselines) available modes, inviting the community to suggest targets whose resulting data will be publicly released for scrutiny.

This is a timely one-day Special Session, led by the SKAO, to prepare the community for this process. While there will be no time for contributed talks, we welcome posters on SV ideas to be presented during the session to foster open discussions.

Programme

The SKAO at a glance: a project overview. Block aimed at introducing the SKAO, its current status, and early commissioning results. It will include updates on the project timeline and rollout of modes, and an introduction to the essential SKAO user tools and the SRCNet.

Preparing for AA2 Science Verification. Focused on the upcoming AA2 SV, which will include invited talks by experts in different science areas. It will outline the specific validation steps needed during the SV AA2 phase to ensure the system is ready to achieve that goal.

Community Engagement: from science ideas to SV data products. Designed to be a collaborative space for the community, focused on the call for SV ideas. It will include demonstrations of proposal preparation tools and presentations of SV science ideas (ePosters) to facilitate interactive discussions.

Scientific organisers

• Belen Alcalde Pampliega (chair, SKAO)
• Shari Breen (SKAO)
• Anna Bonaldi (SKAO)
• Joseph R. Callingham (ASTRON)
• Cathryn Trott (ATNF)
• Mark Sargent (LASTRO)

Contact

Belen Alcalde Pampliega: Belen.AlcaldePampliega[at]skao.int; Shari Breen: Shari.Breen[at]skao.int