Floor Tom

Stanley Tom Mamela - 'Super telescope' waiting for technical fix

When the Southern African Big Telescope -- or "Salt" -- opens its shutter it provides astronomers a watch far past its place in the vastness of South Africa's semi desert, identified as the Karoo. Stanley Tom Mamela

Distant galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters are all in the achieve of a telescope big adequate to see all the way to the edge of the observable universe, again in time to the aftermath of the massive bang. Stanley Tom Mamela

Astronomer Alexei Kniazev is 1 of the handful of scientists who run experiments for fellow researchers from 15 institutional partners about the world.

"It's the greatest mirror in the southern hemisphere, which is 11 meters in diameter, which consists of 91 one particular-meter hexagonal segments," he informed CNN.
Gallery: Southern African Significant Telescope Stanley Tom Mamela

The telescope is so highly effective it can document distant objects a billion situations too faint to be observed with the bare eye and detect the flame of a candle on the floor of the moon. And it is flawlessly positioned to unlock the universe's secrets. Stanley Tom Mamela

"We are by using this telescope to examine objects, not in our galaxy, but close by galaxies, which is virtually unattainable to do with smaller sized telescopes," said Kniazev.

"From southern hemisphere, it's probable to examine the middle of our galaxy, the Milky Way. This is not achievable to see from the northern hemisphere. And only from southern hemisphere is it feasible to examine Magellanic clouds, which are [the] nearest galaxies."

But rather of gazing at the heavens, at the moment Kniazev is forced to research pictures taken months ago.

Because its launch in 2005, Salt has been hampered by technical difficulties. Its principal instrument, a multi-million dollar spectrograph, sits in a operate area, waiting to be re-attached in mid January.

Lead engineer Martin Wilkinson says it's the specialized nature of the instrument that has hamstrung engineers, who have to understand as they go in producing repairs.
It's utilizing a good deal of distinct technologies that have by no means been place with each other in this way just before."
--Martin Wilkinson , lead engineer, Salt

He informed CNN: "It's fairly a exceptional gadget. It's the only a person in the globe actually that works in the spectrum we are seeking at. The universe is just a mass of energy radiating at all various kinds of wavelengths.

"From that they [researchers] are in a position to figure out, for instance, how rapidly galaxies are shifting away or in the direction of us, the constituents of the galaxies, what they are built of, and it gives the astronomers a big variety of info.

"It's making use of a whole lot of unique technologies that have by no means been place collectively in this way ahead of."

While the staff says they've been individual all through the repair course of action, Kniazev is seeking ahead to resuming his investigation.

"In January we place the two instruments on the telescope and the telescope turns into one hundred % functional," he stated.

For now, Salt remains far more a image of the guarantee of astronomy in Africa than a instrument for research. But Kniazev and other people say that promise is good.

"Helium was found by astronomers in the spectrum of the sun, nuclear reactions had been discovered by astronomers learning stars, so it signifies we certainly not know what we will discover in the potential and how beneficial this information will be," he stated.

About the Author

Stanley Tom Mamela

Floor Tom

Comments are closed.