SAAO 200 Astrophotography Competition Winners Announced
As part of the SAAO 200 year celebrations, the SAAO and SciFest Africa launched the SAAO 200 Astrophotography competition. The astrophotography compet...
15 Jun, 2021
AstroArt Competition Winners Announced
The winners of the AstroArt Competition have been announced....
11 Jun, 2021
Do your PhD or MSc research at the SAAO
The SAAO offers students the opportunity to work with leading researchers on cutting edge astronomy and instrumentation projects. These cover observa...
19 May, 2021
SAAO 200 Bursaries
2020 marked the 200 years anniversary of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). As part of its celebrations, the SAAO is giving away ten R...
30 Apr, 2021
eROSITA and SALT witness the awakening of massive black holes
Combined observations by eROSITA, the main instrument aboard the Spectrum-Röntgen-Gamma (SRG) satellite, and the Southern African Large Telescope (SA...
28 Apr, 2021
Connect South Africa – Call for applications
Deadline: 26 of May 2021 Introduction Since 2014 CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Geneva, and Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Coun...
14 Apr, 2021
Teaching Earth and Beyond Competition
As part of its 200 year anniversary celebrations the SAAO invites all teachers to enter our Teaching Earth and Beyond competition. The aim is to showc...
08 Apr, 2021
Sutherland Tourism Competition
Since the building and commissioning of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), Sutherland has become an interesting destination among tourists w...
23 Feb, 2021
AstroArt Competition
As part of its 200 year anniversary celebrations the South African Astronomical Observatory hereby invites all foundation phase learners, grades R t...
23 Feb, 2021
Astronomy special edition of NRF’s Science Matters magazine
We are pleased to announce the publication of a special astronomy edition of the NRF’s Science Matters magazine. This has been produced in celebrat...
21 Oct, 2020
The Premiere of New Planetarium Film ‘Rising Star’
Today, 19 October 2020, saw the premiere of the highly anticipated locally produced planetarium film ‘Rising Star’ at the Iziko Planetarium and Di...
19 Oct, 2020
SAAO 200 Virtual Symposium “Beyond 200 Years of Astronomy”.
The SAAO will, in October 2020, celebrate 200 years of existence as an astronomical observatory. We’re proud to announce the SAAO 200 Virtual Sy...
25 Sep, 2020
SAAO Astronomer discovers new comet C/2020 S3 (Erasmus)
On Sunday 20 September 2020 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Minor Planet Center announced the discovery of a comet (magnitude ~18.5) by SAA...
23 Sep, 2020
Kavli–IAU Transients 2020 Workshop Produces Multi-Messenger and Transient Astronomy White Paper
In February 2020 a Kavli–IAU Workshop took place at the South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town, South Africa. Its focus was the futur...
16 Jul, 2020
2021 MSc and PhD Research Opportunities
The SAAO offers students the opportunity to work with leading researchers on cutting edge astronomy and instrumentation projects. These cover observat...
08 May, 2020
SAAO MASTER telescopes observe Gamma-Ray burst afterglow
The MASTER-SAAO Robotic telescopes have contributed to the observation of an unusually energetic gamma-ray burst (GRB) which has prompted astrophysici...
07 Apr, 2020
SAAO Annual Report 2018/19
The 2018/19 SAAO Annual Report has been released: Download report below:...
09 Dec, 2019
The IAU General Assembly 2024 will be hosted by Cape Town, South Africa
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) today announced the 32nd General Assembly of the IAU in 2024 will be hosted by Cape Town, South Africa. Thi...
30 Aug, 2019
The changing landscape of South African astronomy
South Africa is looking forward to hosting the International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly in 2024 — the first on the African continent....
06 May, 2019
The South African Astronomical Observatory Celebrates the life of an Astronomy Giant, Professor Michael William Feast
Professor Michael William Feast died peacefully early on Monday morning, 1 April 2019, aged 92. He is survived by his wife Connie, three children and ...
02 Apr, 2019
Declaration of the South African Astronomical Observatory as a National Heritage Site
On December 21, 2018, the South African Heritage Resources Agency(SAHRA) officially declared the South African Astronomical Observatory as a National ...
23 Jan, 2019
SAAO contributes to MU69 exploration
On the 1st of January 2019, NASA’s New Horizon’s spacecraft performed a very exciting flyby of the most distant object ever explored, 2014 MU69, n...
11 Jan, 2019
A mystery in the outer Solar System
Stellar occultations are a powerful technique that allows characterization of foreground objects by watching them block light from a distant star. Thi...
18 Dec, 2018
Pluto: small, distant, and fascinating
Pluto is an interesting object located in the outer region of our Solar System. Although only 2376 km in diameter, it hosts five moons and a thin at...
05 Sep, 2018
SAAO to contribute to the global effort to detect Near Earth Objects
The South African Astronomical Observatory(SAAO) will play host to the next generation of asteroid-hunting telescopes as part of the NASA funded Aster...
29 Aug, 2018
Inauguration of the MeerLICHT telescope
On Friday May 25 – Africa Day 2018 – a new telescope has been inaugurated at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), near Sutherland, t...
25 May, 2018
Our new 1-metre telescope has a name – Lesedi
The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) has concluded the naming competition for its new 1-metre telescope; a recent addition to the many na...
05 May, 2017
CCD work begins on the WiNCam instrument
In the past week, a milestone was reached on the WiNCam (Wide-field Nasmyth Camera) instrument. This is an imaging camera system to be mounted on the ...
16 Feb, 2017