S. Africa Radio Astronomy: Deputy president launches the world's biggest radio telescope

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02:58

A significant milestone in radio astronomy, South African Deputy President David Mabuza has officially launched a 64-dish radio telescope in Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. Called the 'MeerKAT', it's the world's largest radio telescope of its kind, at least, until the Square Kilometre Array is completed. CGTN's Angelo Coppola was there.

The team responsible for the MeerKat project consisted mostly of South Africans, including members of the communities in the area. Some 230 million dollars was spent on the various elements.

DR FERNANDO CAMILO CHIEF SCIENTIST, SQUARE KILOMETER ARRAY AFRICA "They built a telescope that is the best of its kind in the world. They have made an image of the very centre, the core of our Milky Way galaxy, 30 thousand light years away. The clearest sharpest image ever made, by anyone on earth."

DAVID MABUZA DEPUTY PRESIDENT, SOUTH AFRICA "This is a very significant project that sets the country on a path towards development. It's not South Africa alone that would benefit. All the countries that came together to contribute are going to benefit."

The meerkat and SKA project is a continent-wide initiative. It involves eight African countries and covers anything from creating a new telescope in Ghana to establishing training telescopes in others. There's also a strong educational component.

TAKALANI NEMAUNGANI CHIEF DIRECTOR, ASTRONOMY, DEP'T OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY "We have already graduated quite a number of PHDs that have gone back to their countries, many of them initiated the discipline of astronomy in their own universities, which was not the case before."

The meerkat project is a precursor to the first phase of the actual SKA project which will see another 133 dishes or radio telescopes developed, built and erected in the northern cape. It's going to be funded by Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

TAKALANI NEMAUNGANI CHIEF DIRECTOR, ASTRONOMY, DEP'T OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY "The infrastructure phase of the SKA one should begin I believe let's say in about a year to two years time."

The meerkat program is a massive achievement, but will pale when compared to SKA phase one, which will consist of 133 dishes or antennas.

DR FERNANDO CAMILO CHIEF SCIENTIST, SQUARE KILOMETER ARRAY AFRICA "That one will have by the way, antennas here in the Karoo that are spaced out to 120 maybe even 150 kilometers, rather than just the eight kilometers. So yeah, it is three times, four times as many antennas all together, the dishes, but spread over much longer distances."

ANGELO COPPOLA CARNARVON, NORTHERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA "While this is a major milestone, it's the first of many steps into a better understanding of the universe in which we live in, and what's been happening over hundreds and millions of years. I'm Angelo Coppola for CGTN in Carnarvon, in the Northern Cape."