by Tomasz Nowakowski Using the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), astronomers have conducted spectroscopic and imaging observations of the planetary nebula WR 72. They discovered hydrogen-poor knots in the central part of the nebula, which could be helpful in improving knowledge about the nature......
The 2018/19 SAAO Annual Report has been released: Download report below:...
Scientists using the MeerKAT radio telescope and the Southern African Large Telescope have combined forces for the first time to discover and identify a unique and previously-unseen flare of radio emission from a binary star in our Galaxy....
The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) will host a transit of Mercury viewing event at the SAAO in Observatory on Monday, 11 November from 14h35 till sunset. This transit will be visible across the African continent starting at our local time corresponding to 14h35 pm South......
Astronomers using the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), have measured the rotation of some of the largest spiral galaxies, spinning at up to 570 kilometres per second! Their rapid spin is a result of sitting within an extraordinarily massive cloud, or halo, of dark matter – invisible matter detectable only through its gravity. The largest “super spiral” studied here resides in a dark matter halo weighing at least 40 trillion times the mass of our Sun....
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Overview Members of the public are welcome to an Open Night at the SAAO in Cape Town on 25 January 2020, starting at 20h00. Dr Werner Janse van Rensburg (CHPC Research Manager) will present a talk titled High Performance Computing: Initiatives in South Africa and…
Overview Members of the public are welcome to an Open Night at the SAAO in Cape Town on 8 February 2020, starting at 20h00. Professor Benjamin Stappers (University of Manchester,UK) will present a talk titled Fast Radio Bursts - Extragalactic Radio Emission of Unknown Origin. This…
Members of the public are welcome to an Open Night at the SAAO in Cape Town on 14 March 2020, starting at 20h00. Dr. Iniyan Natarajan (Rhodes University/SARAO) will present a talk titled Do not go gentle into that good night. This will be followed by a tour of the site and (weather permitting) star gazing.