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X-WR-CALNAME:SAAO
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.saao.ac.za
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for SAAO
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TZID:Africa/Johannesburg
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TZOFFSETFROM:+0200
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DTSTART:20260101T000000
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DTSTART;TZID=Africa/Johannesburg:20260926T200000
DTEND;TZID=Africa/Johannesburg:20260926T220000
DTSTAMP:20261021T061444
CREATED:20260831T103620Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260914T102948Z
UID:26049-1790452800-1790460000@www.saao.ac.za
SUMMARY:NRF|SAAO Cape Town Open Night
DESCRIPTION:Join us for Open Nights at the South African Astronomical Observatory (NRF/SAAO) in Cape Town\, held on the second and fourth Saturday of every month. \nEach evening begins with an engaging presentation on astronomy or a related field of science\, followed by a guided tour of the Observatory’s rich history—including our library\, museum\, and the historic 120-year-old McClean Telescope. \nWeather permitting\, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy stargazing through the Observatory’s outreach telescopes. \n\n\n\nGates open at 7:30 PM.\nFree entry for children aged 6 and under.\n\n\n\nPlease email cptbookings@saao.ac.za or call +27 21 447 0025 if you have any queries regarding bookings. \n\n\n\n\nSpeaker: Malcolm Scarrott \n \nBio: Malcolm is currently a Masters student at the University of Cape Town\, being supervised by Prof. Paul Groot\, Dr. Lisa Crause\, and Prof. Derryck Reid. His project involves building and qualifying the Laser Frequency Comb that has been under development since 2023. He has a passion for Instrumentation and PRV research\, as well as a love for Astronomy in South Africa. \nAbstract:  \n” Commissioning and Qualifying a Titanium Sapphire-Based Laser Frequency Comb for Precision Radial Velocity measurements with SALT’s High Resolution Spectrograph” \nLaser Frequency Combs (LFC) are used to calibrate High Resolutions Spectrographs (HRS) by providing a set of narrow\, equally spaced\, and atomically referenced calibration lines. The SALT LFC project will enable Precision Radial Velocity Science (PRV) to done using SALT’s own HRS\, mainly searching for exo-planets. A number of redesigns and improvements have been made to the LFC in 2026\, extending the coverage of the comb across the HRS Red channel (550 – 890 nm). We have improved the stability of the system\, and are working towards the comb being fully automated. This will allow for full commissioning of the instrument with on-sky RV standard stars\, in preparation for the PLATO mission that will be launching in March 2027. The LFC will be an essential tool for exoplanet science\, and presents an exciting prospect for South Africa to meaningfully contribute to the PRV scientific community. \nIn this talk Malcolm will discuss the theory behind searching for exo-planets\, how LFCs work\, the design of the SALT LFC\, and results from monitoring its performance in both the lab and on-sky. He will also touch on the work that they hope to accomplish in the coming year. \n 
URL:https://www.saao.ac.za/event/nrfsaao-cape-town-open-night-41/
LOCATION:Cape Town\, Observatory Rd\, Observatory\, Cape Town\, 7925\, South Africa
CATEGORIES:Cape Town Tours
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