Berliner Boersenzeitung - S.Africa's vast radio telescope draws new generation to the cosmos

EUR -
AED 4.325935
AFN 82.357243
ALL 97.98399
AMD 453.431688
ANG 2.107768
AOA 1080.017014
ARS 1450.427229
AUD 1.793247
AWG 2.122935
AZN 1.997299
BAM 1.955505
BBD 2.380911
BDT 144.658206
BGN 1.955923
BHD 0.444046
BIF 3512.826034
BMD 1.177773
BND 1.501455
BOB 8.148772
BRL 6.372108
BSD 1.179207
BTN 100.543853
BWP 15.577587
BYN 3.859119
BYR 23084.342213
BZD 2.368743
CAD 1.59885
CDF 3397.874053
CHF 0.933743
CLF 0.02848
CLP 1092.915346
CNY 8.439208
CNH 8.436662
COP 4704.753831
CRC 595.302733
CUC 1.177773
CUP 31.210973
CVE 110.24839
CZK 24.633081
DJF 209.98569
DKK 7.461195
DOP 70.488483
DZD 152.84189
EGP 58.119191
ERN 17.666588
ETB 162.662004
FJD 2.634912
FKP 0.864607
GBP 0.861717
GEL 3.203778
GGP 0.864607
GHS 12.205161
GIP 0.864607
GMD 84.212651
GNF 10224.416228
GTQ 9.066634
GYD 246.712831
HKD 9.244849
HNL 30.809228
HRK 7.535628
HTG 154.834701
HUF 398.833248
IDR 19066.606673
ILS 3.925039
IMP 0.864607
INR 100.573512
IQD 1544.747601
IRR 49613.669626
ISK 142.404731
JEP 0.864607
JMD 188.390818
JOD 0.835018
JPY 170.019723
KES 152.422098
KGS 102.996405
KHR 4733.226631
KMF 492.308889
KPW 1060.026619
KRW 1603.066682
KWD 0.359492
KYD 0.982739
KZT 612.719887
LAK 25408.848409
LBP 105658.681922
LKR 353.772197
LRD 236.43438
LSL 20.652289
LTL 3.477656
LVL 0.712423
LYD 6.349962
MAD 10.580206
MDL 19.858008
MGA 5179.197737
MKD 61.531403
MMK 2472.387612
MNT 4222.647074
MOP 9.534164
MRU 46.767954
MUR 52.964626
MVR 18.15224
MWK 2044.883246
MXN 21.963963
MYR 4.973723
MZN 75.329989
NAD 20.652026
NGN 1802.757376
NIO 43.393278
NOK 11.849293
NPR 160.867716
NZD 1.940637
OMR 0.452869
PAB 1.179222
PEN 4.199767
PGK 4.868246
PHP 66.498218
PKR 334.637723
PLN 4.242778
PYG 9401.46388
QAR 4.297453
RON 5.058651
RSD 117.184785
RUB 93.342502
RWF 1693.937607
SAR 4.416984
SBD 9.819001
SCR 17.278871
SDG 707.233697
SEK 11.264629
SGD 1.500547
SHP 0.925544
SLE 26.44087
SLL 24697.306053
SOS 673.895613
SRD 43.795447
STD 24377.514118
SVC 10.318314
SYP 15313.139886
SZL 20.661624
THB 38.074443
TJS 11.432432
TMT 4.133982
TND 3.430583
TOP 2.758461
TRY 46.92803
TTD 7.989695
TWD 34.113016
TZS 3120.162088
UAH 49.238073
UGX 4230.362672
USD 1.177773
UYU 47.242883
UZS 14848.76295
VES 128.934888
VND 30837.030102
VUV 140.094991
WST 3.064012
XAF 655.855407
XAG 0.031985
XAU 0.000352
XCD 3.182989
XDR 0.815674
XOF 655.84984
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.197805
ZAR 20.615373
ZMK 10601.361125
ZMW 28.448714
ZWL 379.242284
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

S.Africa's vast radio telescope draws new generation to the cosmos
S.Africa's vast radio telescope draws new generation to the cosmos / Photo: MARCO LONGARI - AFP

S.Africa's vast radio telescope draws new generation to the cosmos

When Lungelo Zondi first learnt about stars and galaxies at primary school in South Africa, she dreamt of having a live feed into the universe for uninterrupted space exploration.

Text size:

Today, aged 25, her childhood vision has pretty much come true.

From her desk in Cape Town, Zondi monitors one of the world’s largest radio telescopes, the MeerKAT, made up of 64 giant white dishes that stand in a semi-desert region 600 kilometres (370 miles) away.

Through the screen of her computer, she can tune into radio signals emitted by stars and galaxies light-years away using the massive antennae that are 13.5 metres (44 feet) in diametre and turned up to the heavens.

"This is so interesting and fascinating: we're collecting data from the universe," Zondi said of the job of telescope operator at the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) that she started just two months ago.

Since 2005, SARAO has awarded 1,369 bursaries to students of applied mathematics, computer science, astrophysics and other subjects.

The bubbly engineering student is among them and part of a young generation of South Africans now able to look into the cosmos since the 2018 inauguration of the MeerKAT super radio telescope, which put the country on the map of global astronomy.

- World's most powerful -

As impressive as they are, the 64 dishes of the MeerKAT are just the start of an even bigger project, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Observatory that will be the world's most powerful radio telescope when it is completed by 2030.

The project will hook up another 133 South African dishes and more than 131,000 antennae based in Western Australia to allow humans to look back billions of years to when the "first stars and galaxies started lighting up the darkness", according to SKAO.

In the seven years since it was launched in the remote and sparsely populated Karoo region, MeerKAT has already "pushed the boundaries of scientific knowledge," said Adrian Tiplady, SARAO deputy managing director.

Its feats include groundbreaking radio images of the centre of the Milky Way, the discovery of immense radio galaxies stretching across millions of light-years, and the tracking of cosmic ripples through spacetime.

And with the MeerKAT programme to help train young South Africans, it is also keeping an eye on its future.

"It really covers the broad base of skills needed to actively participate in a global astronomy enterprise," Tiplady said.

"It has meant that the youth of South Africa now are excited about science, engineering and technology. We've really grown from a handful of radio astronomers some 10 or 20 years ago to a thriving and diverse community," he said.

An astrophysics group at the University of the Western Cape has benefited.

In 2011, "it started with just one South African faculty (member) at the time… and one student doing the PhD", Mario Santos, 50, professor in the university's physics and astronomy department, said.

"Now we have about 25 students and six faculty members," he added, saying the growth was "completely" linked to MeerKAT's development and South Africa’s selection as SKA host.

- Time machine -

In the control room at SARAO’s offices in Cape Town, Zondi and her colleagues monitor the health of the antennae and send them instructions to execute observations requested by scientists from all over the world.

There have been more than 1,200 submissions for observation time since 2019, with the biggest share from local research teams, Tiplady said.

"The world is watching us, so we have to make things perfect," said Sipho Molefe, another telescope operator. The 34-year-old studied electrical engineering and never imagined he would be working in astronomy.

"It makes people dream," he said. "There's a feeling that we're contributing to a bigger and larger environment in terms of information and development of technology."

The quiet and empty Karoo from where the MeerKAT's sensitive antennae listen to the universe was identified as holding tremendous potential for South African astronomy in the 1990s.

The facility operates in a "radio quiet zone" where radio waves, cell phone signals and wireless connections are strictly controlled to prevent interference with the telescope's tracking.

“When we're building a telescope, it's almost like building a time machine," Tiplady said.

"Something like MeerKAT or the SKA will detect radio signals that have been travelling through the universe since the birth of the universe itself.”

“It's a true marvel of scientific and technical excellence... and we're proud of South Africa to be a part of this,” he told AFP.

(A.Lehmann--BBZ)