MeerKAT operational, can show how galaxies evolved

01 March 2015 - 16:24 By DOMINIC SKELTON
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Image: HO/ Times Media

Well know for serving the tastiest lamb in the country, the arid Karoo will soon be famous for its other dishes: the ones that look billions of kilometres away and may answer questions about the birth of the universe.

The MeerKAT, a precursor to the Square Kilometre Array, is now operational with two of the 64 dishes up and running. The dishes, standing 19.5 metres tall, have already seen the hydrogen formations around galaxies that are millions of light years away.

Light from the Andromeda galaxy received by the telescope is essentially 200 million years old.

“The telescope acts like a time machine,” said Siyambonga Matshawule, one of the telescope operators at the MeerKAT doing his PHD in Astrophysics. “By pointing the telescope at various times of the year and tracking it I can study how the galaxy has evolved over time.” He said that he also studies the properties of galaxies, like star formation rates and element composition.

The SKA will be the world's most powerful and sensitive radio telescope in the world upon its completion, running at 10 000 times faster than the best telescopes of today. MeerKAT, which will consist of 64 dishes by the end of 2017, is only the beginning. A further 190 dishes will be installed in the Karoo, as well as 2500 more in other parts of Africa for phase two of the project, expected to be completed in 2030.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the SKA site this weekend for the opportunity to see the “Big Data” collection first-hand. The MeerKAT collects information that could fit on 4.5 million DVD's every day. He branded the project a success for Africa but said that the insights learned from it would be owned by the world at large.

“This is truly a world-class project and it is happening here in the Northern Cape,” said Ramaphosa. “Eight other African countries will be involved in hosting the second phase of the project, establishing Africa as the hub for scientific knowledge and enquiry. The SKA will help to drive human capital development on our continent.”

The establishment of the SKA has led to developments in the water and poverty stricken town of Carnarvon, where local contractors are being utilised in the construction of infrastructure at the site. Maths and science teachers have been bolstered at the local high school and cyber-labs and e-learning has been rolled out. The Department of Rural Development has also been training local communities to manage the centres.

SKA Project Director Bernie Fanaroff said that the scale of the project has attracted the attention of the youth. “We have ordered 678 bursaries up to now, ranging from artisans to post-doctorates and people ultimately are working towards being able to build, use and maintain the SKA,” he said.

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