Newsletter May/June 2011 SA’S Science Minister Welcomes New Commitment Towards Building the SKA
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Newsletter May/June 2011 SA’s science minister welcomes new commitment towards building the SKA SA’s science minister welcomes new South Africa is one of nine countries that discoveries that the SKA will make, but commitment towards building the SKA 1 have signed a letter of intent to see the also because of the economic benefits that Square Kilometre Array (SKA) built - a international mega-science projects can bring African astronomy strides ahead at move that has been welcomed by Science to participating countries.” MEARIM II gathering 2 and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor. The letter was signed on 2 April 2011 at a The SKA project will drive technology African Telescope Array on the cards 2 meeting of SKA stakeholders in Rome, Italy. development in antennas, fibre networks, signal processing, and software and New radio telescope planned for The signatories – Australia , China, the computing. Spin off innovations in these Mozambique 3 United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, areas will benefit other systems that Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa process large volumes of data. The design, MeerKAT science takes off 3 – agreed to work together to secure funding construction and operation of the SKA will Successful ThunderKAT kick-off 4 for the next phase of the project. The impact skills development in all partner signatory parties represent organisations countries. IAU Global Office of Astronomy for of national scale and will coordinate groups Development launched in SA 4 carrying out SKA research and development An SKA Founding Board was established in their respective countries. More than to guide the project into the next phase, New Research Chairs give extra 70 institutes in 20 countries, together and it was announced that the SKA Project momentum to skills development with industry partners, are participating in Office will be based at the Jodrell Bank for SKA South Africa 5 the scientific and technical design of the Observatory near Manchester in the United telescope. Kingdom from 1 January 2012. Professor More international science experiments Richard Schilizzi, Director of the SKA, says: blossoming in the Karoo 6 Professor John Womersley, chair of the “The move to Jodrell Bank Observatory Founding Board, said: “Given the current comes at a crucial time as the project Cutting-edge MeerKAT control room economic environment, it is reassuring grows from a concept to an international now operational 6 that so many partners have recognised the mega-science project. The new location importance of supporting the SKA. Our and facilities will support the significant Reader’s Cambridge sabbatical links to partners have taken this step not only expansion that is planned.” SKA phase 1 7 because of the inspirational nature of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Focus on women in physics 8 Forum, Banff, July 4-8, 2011 The 4th annual international Square Blog along with the barefoot Kilometre Array (SKA) event is being astronomer 8 held this year at The Banff Centre, about 150 km from Calgary, Canada, 4-8 July 2011. SKA scientists and engineers from around the globe will participate in the event alongside politicians and industry representatives. South Africa will be More info on the SKA South Africa Project at represented by a high-level delegation led by the Minister for Science and www.ska.ac.za Technology, Ms Naledi Pandor. Find out E-mail: [email protected] more at www.ska2011.org to subscribe to this newsletter Artist’s impression of the SKA telescope of the SKA South Africa Project. (SKA Project Office) 1 African astronomy strides ahead at MEARIM II gathering Prof. Roy Booth, SKA South Africa “Africa’s SKA bid has support throughout “The hosting of this meeting in South Africa there was a lot of interest in the MeerKAT the continent,” said South Africa’s deputy is timely, given the IAU’s plans to promote engineering developments, the new offset minister for science and technology, Mr astronomy throughout the developing world,” Gregorian dish design and the large survey Derek Hanekom in his opening address at the Hanekom said. “This will require a huge effort scientific projects, several of which featured second meeting of MEARIM (Middle East and on the education and outreach front.” on the programme. African Regional Meeting of the International The meeting began with a talk on the Astronomical Union – IAU). The meeting new IAU Global Office of Astronomy for The formal launch of the African Astronomical Society (AfAS) took took place in Cape Town from 11–15 April Development, delivered with great enthusiasm place during MEARIM II. This followed 2011. He congratulated the IAU for providing by its Director, Kevin Govender. The new discussion and a meeting in Burkina this platform that has created a vibrant and African Astronomical Society was also launced Faso in December 2010 where the growing community of astronomers. during the conference (see box). “Ouagadougou Declaration” was signed by the members of the working group. Astronomy and physics organisations Nearly 200 delegates from South Africa, Just about all aspects of astronomy were from around the world congratulated the Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Zambia, covered in the meeting and Southern African new society. Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Rwanda, Morocco, instruments, new and existing, were discussed AfAS’s vision is to be the voice of Mauritius, Ghana, DRC, Burundi, Ethiopia, in some detail. It was with great excitement astronomy in Africa in order to promote Sudan, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Lebanon that the commissioning results from SALT research and collaboration on the attended the meeting. These African delegates were revealed, showing that sub-arcsecond continent, and to facilitate the use of astronomy in addressing the challenges were joined by participants from the UK, imaging is now a reality. Many exciting new faced by Africa. Find out more at USA, Pakistan, Nepal, Japan, France, Germany, results from HESS – on pulsars and gamma www.africanastronomicalsociety.org Denmark and Sweden. ray bursts - were shown for the first time and During MEARIM II the African Astronomical Society (AfAS) was launched, with Pius Okeke (right) elected as its first president. He is congratulated by Bob Williams (left), president of the IAU. African Telescope Array on the cards South African astronomers and their An African radio telescope network would colleagues in other African countries fill in a major gap in the global VLBI network. are investigating the conversion of “It will require a bit of work, but within a decommissioned telecommunications year or two we could be making the first antennae across the African continent into a observations,” says Prof Justin Jonas. “We will radio astronomy VLBI network. equip them with new receivers and control systems suitable for radio astronomy use.” There are at least 26 satellite ground segment dishes, possibly more, spread out over Africa. Scientists from South Africa and the UK Some are either out of use already, or likely to visited Ghana early in 2011 to assess be out of use soon,” explains Dr Mike Gaylard the suitability of the 32-m dish in that of the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy country for the planned African network. Observatory. “These dishes have become A 32-m telecommunications dish near redundant because fibre-optic cables have the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy taken over their telecommunications function, Observatory (HartRAO) is also being but with some refurbishment they can considered for refurbishment as a VLBI become a substantial and important network instrument. for radio astronomy.” The decommissioned Vodafone 32-m satellite communications antenna at Kuntunse, Ghana 2 New radio telescope planned for Mozambique South Africa will assist Mozambique with the construction of a new radio telescope adjacent to the country’s Maluana Science and Technology Park over the next year. The radio telescope will boost postgraduate research and teaching programmes in radio astronomy at Eduardo Mondlane University and Mozambique’s other universities. “We are aiming to ensure that the Mozambique Radio Astronomy Observatory will be operational early in 2012,” South Africa’s science and technology Minister, Ms Naledi Pandor, said when she visited the Mozambican capital of Maputo during April 2011. “This would demonstrate our collective determination and capacity to the international community ahead of the SKA site decision.” Mozambique is one of South Africa’s partners in the bid to host the SKA, and a potential host country for SKA stations. Other African partner countries are Zambia, Mauritius, Madagascar, Ghana, Kenya, Botswana and Namibia. “Skills development and training of students in radio astronomy is one of the focus areas of our efforts to assist the partner countries in participating in the SKA science,” Minister Pandor added. Layout of SKA core and stations across Africa MeerKAT science takes off Prof. Roy Booth, SKA South Africa The principal investigators of the MeerKAT the first receiver to allow higher red-shift and software using KAT-7, when the major Large Survey projects assembled in Cape space to be investigated earlier by the high-z commissioning of that precursor array is Town on 17 & 18 April 2011 for their first HI team. completed. meeting with the project staff. The meeting was preceded by telephonic preparatory Of special interest was the correlator and It was agreed by all that such meetings should meetings with the project system engineers. pipeline software and their ability to cope be arranged