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NRF|SAAO Cape Town Open Night

October 31 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

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.

Each 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.

Weather permitting, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy stargazing through the Observatory’s outreach telescopes.

    • Gates open at 7:30 PM.
    • Free entry for children aged 6 and under.

Please email cptbookings@saao.ac.za or call +27 21 447 0025 if you have any queries regarding bookings.

Speaker: Abigail Thambiran

Bio: 

Abigail Thambiran is a final-year Master’s Student in Astrophysics at the University of Cape Town (UCT) with a research focus on radio pulsars. Her current work involves using machine learning to explore how mode-changing pulsars switch between multiple stable states in quasi-periodic manner.  She is passionate about making science accessible to the public and is an Open Night Coordinator here at the SAAO.

Abstract: 

In this talk, we will explore the weird and wonderful world of radio pulsars: what are they and how can we study them? Why do they seem to be the cosmic lighthouses of the Universe? We will go over the very basics of pulsars, from how they’re born to current research being done on all varieties of pulsars, and most importantly, how interesting they are! We will end the talk with a short discussion on how radio astronomy is advancing in South Africa, and how opportunities for students to enter radio astronomy are more available and inclusive than ever.

 

 

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Details

Date:
October 31
Time:
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Event Category:

Organizer

SAAO

Venue

Cape Town
Observatory Rd, Observatory
Cape Town, 7925 South Africa + Google Map
Phone:
021 447 0025