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Mail & Guardian

Square Kilometre Array

latest news & developments
The auditorium at the world’s largest astronomy meeting, the 32nd General Assembly of the International Astronomy Union (IAU) at Cape Town International Convention Centre on August 06, 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Misha Jordaan/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
AFRICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

World’s largest astronomy meeting debuts in Cape Town

South Africa’s groundbreaking astronomical advances, the Southern African Large Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array, will be featured at the IAU General Assembly

  • Umamah Bakharia
3 min read
AI DEVELOPMENT

OPINION | The impact of the NITheCS Internship on South African science

The annual National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences internship is being expanded to include 25 universities, led by Stellenbosch

  • Heather Dugmore
8 min read
A new identity: Hakeem Muata Oluseyi wanted his name to reflect his African roots so that it could inspire others, something his birth name could not achieve. (Freddie Claire)
ASTROPHYSICS

‘Gangsta’ astrophysicist journeys from the ghetto to the stars

The sole black astrophysicist at Nasa’s science mission directorate traces his roots and his work with black South African astro-science students

  • Hakeem Oluseyi
8 min read
The SALT, like the SKA, is in the Northern Cape. New rules mean aircraft may have to avoid the area. (Mujahid Safodien/AFP)
AVIATION

SKA could add time to flight path

The aviation sector is worried that rules about the radio spectrum in the skies above the project could affect the Jo’burg to Cape Town route

  • Tshegofatso Mathe
5 min read
Executive officer of the National Skills Authority Thabo Mashongoane, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Minister of Higher Education and Training Naledi Pandor at the NSA conference.
NALEDI PANDOR

Rethinking demand-led skills development in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

South Africa is on track to meet the NDP goal in terms of doctoral graduates

  • Youlendree Appasamy
5 min read
School children at the site of the KAT-7 radio telescope in Carnarvon
ASTRONOMY

A big moment for Africa: Why the MeerKAT and astronomy matter

Astronomy is accessible to anyone with a view of the sky

  • Vanessa Mcbride
5 min read
The Net1 subsidiary’s director, Nunthakumarin Pillay, says in his affidavit that hundreds of thousands of social grant beneficiaries had opted to receive their social assistance in EPE accounts. (Gallo)
MEERKAT RADIO TELESCOPE

For tech to be funded, it must improve lives

Whether it was in the use of satellites to monitor the continent’s resources or precision medicine, we need technology to accelerate development.

  • Sarah Wild
6 min read
MEERKAT RADIO TELESCOPE

MeerKAT’s astounding hearing is already eavesdropping on the universe

The still infant telescope, which will be a major part of the Square Kilometre Array, is proving to be much more effective than anticipated.

  • Sarah Wild
6 min read
ASTRONOMY

New telescope MeerLicht to observe transients

The MeerLicht telescope will scour the skies to study transient celestial events. But its link to the MeerKAT radio telescope is what sets it apart.

  • Sarah Wild
4 min read
GENES

What to expect from the world of science in 2016

Science continues to shift the boundaries of what we think we know and 2016 will be no exception. Sarah Wild highlights the fields to keep an eye on.

  • Sarah Wild
7 min read
MEERKAT RADIO TELESCOPE

SKA gives high-tech firms a boost

The ambitious SKA super-telescope has sparked a burst of speed in locally developed computing, most recently with Skarab processing technology.

  • Sarah Wild
4 min read
Will moving to Australia be all it’s made out to be for white South African farmers?
SKA SOUTH AFRICA

How to calculate returns on stargazing

Governments put several millions into projects such as the Square Kilometre Array and they expect "the same coming back to their national industries".

  • Sarah Wild
3 min read
SKA SOUTH AFRICA

SKA confident of attracting new members

The Square Kilometre Array Organisation is confident it will gain new member countries to fund the €2bn radio telescope.

  • Sarah Wild
3 min read
Iraqi policemen conduct a raid and search for weapons in an operation in Baquba
SKA SOUTH AFRICA

Eskom’s woes will not affect SA’s SKA efforts – Pandor

Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor says that a backup system has been developed so that the site can manage for three days without power.

  • Sarah Wild
4 min read
PLANETS

Eye on the SKA will enable us to map the entire universe

The Square Kilometre Array will contribute to huge surveys that seek to answer questions like: Is there life out there and how do galaxies form.

  • Sarah Wild
4 min read