The ability of the ASKAP telescope to scan so much of the universe will generate immense amounts of data. On its first day in full operation, ASKAP will collect more data than is currently contained in all current radio astronomy archives or the U.S. Library of Congress.
Using existing radio telescopes, an image of Centaurus A, the closest galaxy to earth with a black hole, would have required some 400 images, two years of observation, and 10,000 hours of computer time. The ASKAP will take a mere two images and five minutes of observation and computer time.
ASKAP is already fully booked for the next five years with scientists from all over the world using it for research.
Some of the first areas of enquiry will include a census of all galaxies within two billion light years, which may shed light on how the Milky Way was formed.
Another research project will look for black holes, which astronomers think may be the seeds of galaxies.
The radio telescope will also probe objects such as pulsars, which Boyle described as "balls of star stuff that are so tightly packed together that a teaspoonful would weigh more than the mass of humanity".
But will the telescope be looking for extra terrestrial life?
"It's not a primary of many of these surveys, but it's certainly a secondary goal that you almost get for free," Boyle said.
"As you're surveying the sky, particularly over wide areas of sky looking for objects, you are also increasing the search volume for signals from extraterrestrial life."