By Wendell Roelf
CARNARVON, South Africa Dec 14 (Reuters) – The
occasional sheep seeks respite from a sun that has scorched
rocks black in this semi-desert region that South Africa hopes
will host the world’s most powerful radio telescope.
Chosen because of its remoteness, with hills providing an
extra shield against radio interference, the Carnarvon area
could emerge as the African base for a telescope 50 times more
sensitive and 10,000 times faster than any in existence.
Africa is competing against Australia for the right to host
the 2 billion euro ($2.62 billion) Square Kilometre Array (SKA)
telescope, and its antennas and other receptors will extend in a
pin-wheel design for 3,000 square kms (1,200 square miles).
Its centre must be in as remote a place as possible, free
from electronic signals, and that is why Carnarvon, about 450 km
northeast of Cape Town, is the site of a pilot project.
The SKA project, funded by a variety of countries and
research institutions, is expected to come on line in 2023 and a
decision is expected in February on whether Africa or
Australia-New Zealand will be the site of the one of the world’s
biggest scientific construction projects.
“There are not many opportunities to serve as this kind of
catalytic agent to catapult South Africa and the continent into
the league of a serious scientific player,” Deputy Science
Minister Derek Hanekom told Reuters.
BOOST FOR AFRICA
South Africa already hosts the Southern African Large
Telescope, the largest of its sort in the southern hemisphere.
Continued…
