Vodafone donated a 32m dish outside Accra to the Ghanaian government for radio astronomy. <\/p>\n
A major impetus for the African VLBI Network is to develop radio astronomers and engineers in African countries, particularly the eight African SKA partner countries that are scheduled to house small SKA sites of their own. <\/p>\n
\"If youre sitting with a birds eye view [of radio astronomy projects] in the Department of Science and Technology, it makes sense. It makes no sense to have initiatives dotted around,\" says Adam. <\/p>\n
However, there were concerns over the absorption of HartRAO into SKA SA, even though they will both be included into the SARAO. <\/p>\n
HartRAO began life in 1961 as the US National Aeronautics and Space Administrations Deep Space Station 51 and was instrumental in tracking probes outside Earths orbit. It specialises in VLBI and a type of science called geodesy, which measures various aspects of Earth, such as continental drift or its distance from the moon. <\/p>\n
\"As with any merger, there would be concerns. These we have addressed through constructive dialogue during the merger process,\" says Prof Ludwig Combrinck, acting MD at HartRAO. <\/p>\n
These sentiments were echoed by Adam and Chetty, who say the countrys geodesy specialisation will be maintained and preserved. <\/p>\n
\"With there being a strong political imperative to grow astronomy broadly in SA, not just in the Western Cape and Northern Cape, the location of HartRAO in Gauteng ensures that it has a unique role to play,\" says Chetty. <\/p>\n
He says HartRAO is crucial for training, especially African partner country training. <\/p>\n
Initially, the SKA SA was driven from within HartRAO, but eventually became too large to be contained by the small radio astronomy facility. <\/p>\n
This amalgamation shows how sprawling radio astronomy has become in SA. From a single dish in the hills of Hartebeesthoek, about an hours drive from Pretoria, radio astronomy is attracting scientists and students from all over the world. <\/p>\n
This high-technology scientific discipline now employs hundreds of people across the country, trains students inside and outside SA and is responsible for building infrastructure worth billions of rand. <\/p>\n
\"The setting up of SARAO indicates the transitioning of SKA SA from an engineering project to a scientific institution, an astronomy observatory,\" says Chetty. <\/p>\n
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SARAH WILD: SA's astronomy centres to become one constellation - Business Day (registration)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Vodafone donated a 32m dish outside Accra to the Ghanaian government for radio astronomy. Continue reading