In the coming decades, human beings will, for the first time, have comprehensive maps of the universe, says Roy Maartens, professor and research chair in cosmology at the University of the Western Cape. “If you have surveys [of the skies] from today to, say
Vox Telecom has beaten six other bidders to win a contract from the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in South Africa to deploy satellite-based Internet access and voice telephony to 300 farmers in areas around the sensitive radio
Germany’s Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy is to commit R150m to the construction and installation of radio receivers on South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope, it was announced on Tuesday. The 64-dish MeerKAT, expected to be
Square Kilometre Array (SKA) South Africa director Bernie Fanaroff will retire at the end of next year. Former South African Nuclear Energy Corporation CEO Rob Adam will take over as “director designate” of the project, which will
Three days of rain in the Northern Cape lent a surprisingly green backdrop to Thursday’s inauguration of South Africa’s first MeerKAT antenna, one of 64 that will dot the site. The white-latticed giant stands nearly 20m above the normally arid and empty landscape, gazing at the prototype seven Karoo Array Telescope (KAT-7) dishes
Science & technology minister Derek Hanekom has welcomed a UK contribution of R1,7bn to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. “The significance is in the impetus that this provides to implementation of phase one of the SKA,” Hanekom said in a statement on Tuesday. “This is a most welcome commitment
The 64th and final foundation for the MeerKAT telescope antenna has been laid at the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) site outside Carnarvon in the Karoo, the SKA Organisation has announced. Almost to 5 000 cubic metres of concrete and more than 570 tons of steel were used to construct the foundations, a project
In all of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) excitement, we’ve forgotten that it is first and foremost a scientific instrument, created to allow scientists to answer questions that can’t be answered with existing equipment: how are galaxies created? Are there other habitable planets? What is dark matter? What is
Lengthy negotiations are underway to establish how much each country involved will pay for the first phase of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope, MPs heard on Wednesday. “The big issue is the funding model,” SKA South Africa project director Bernie Fanaroff told members
The National Research Foundation’s three astronomical observatories have got together to form the South African Astroinformatics Alliance (SA³) to act as a “virtual observatory”. The three facilities are the South African Astronomical Observatory, the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Square Kilometer Array
