2023 PhD and MSc projects
Prospective MSc and PhD students can join astronomers at the South African Astronomical Observatory to explore the universe. Details of how to apply ...
13 May, 2022
In the wake of a dying Sun
A team of scientists from the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), Michigan State University (MSU), and the University of Miami (UM) have cr...
17 Mar, 2022
Minister Nzimande welcomes South Africa’s hosting of NASA-funded Hazardous Asteroid Tracking Telescope
The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, is pleased that one of two new ATLAS asteroid alert system telescopes is ...
31 Jan, 2022
Observations from amateur astronomers lead to the discovery of a warped disc around a black hole in our Milky Way
An international team of astrophysicists from South Africa, the UK, France and the US have found large variations in the brightness of light seen from...
27 Oct, 2021
Astronomers see white dwarf “switch on and off” for first time
Astronomers have used a planet-hunting satellite to see a white dwarf abruptly switching on and off for the first time. The team observed the phenomen...
21 Oct, 2021
Researchers discover three super-massive black holes merging together in our nearby universe
Researchers using the IRSF (InfraRed Survey Facility) at SAAO in Sutherland, have discovered three supermassive black holes from three galaxies mergin...
16 Sep, 2021
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
The bicentenary of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) and the Unveiling of the SAAO as a National Heritage Site
The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) will celebrate 200 years of existence as an astronomical observatory on 20 October 2020. The Royal O...
13 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
Accreting pulsar caught in the act of ‘powering up’
Observations across a range of wavelengths (optical, ultraviolet and X-rays) made in 2019, including those from the Southern African Large Telescope (...
10 Jun, 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
SALT contributes to a new understanding of novae
An international team of researchers, led by Dr Elias Aydi, a former SAAO and University of Cape Town PhD Student, now at Michigan State University (M...
14 Apr, 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
Planetary nebula WR 72 has hydrogen-poor knots, study finds
by Tomasz Nowakowski Using the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), astronomers have conducted spectroscopic and imaging observations of th...
17 Jan, 2020
SAAO Annual Report 2018/19
The 2018/19 SAAO Annual Report has been released: Download report below:...
09 Dec, 2019
MeerKAT and SALT combine to solve mystery stellar event
Scientists using the MeerKAT radio telescope and the Southern African Large Telescope have combined forces for the first time to discover and identify...
20 Nov, 2019
A very rare event worth observing: Mercury passing across the face of the Sun
The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) will host a transit of Mercury viewing event at the SAAO in Observatory on Monday, 11 November from...
07 Nov, 2019
SALT observes super fast spirals!
Astronomers using the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), have measured the rotation of some of the largest spiral galaxies, spinning at up to 57...
17 Oct, 2019
SAAO and MeerKAT combine to confirm the detection of a flaring black hole
Researchers from the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) have utilised the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory MeerKAT Telescope to co...
11 Sep, 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
Repeating outflows of hot wind found close to a galactic black hole
An international team of astrophysicists from Southampton, Oxford and South Africa have detected a very hot, dense outflowing wind close to a black ho...
06 Aug, 2019
SAAO 1.0m Telescope pivotal in the discovery of a ‘Forbidden’ Planet in the ‘Neptunian Desert’
The South African Astronomical Observatory’s 1.0m telescope provided crucial follow-up observations in new research published today by members of th...
29 May, 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
Observing the fast and the furious: SAAO observes the first optical counterpart of a Gravitational Wave source
Following on from the major global announcement in October 2017 on the discovery of the first electromagnetic counterpart of a gravitational wave sour...
22 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
SALT plays key role in the global hunt for Dark Energy
The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), the largest optical telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere, has played an important role as part of the i...
10 Dec, 2018
SALT contributes to the discovery of a bingeing white dwarf
A new binary star system has been discovered in which a small white dwarf star is cannibalising its larger Sun-like companion. Such objects are actual...
03 Dec, 2018
SALT chases hypervelocity stars
The Southern African Large Telescope(SALT) was recently involved in the identification of a hypervelocity star, flung across the galaxy by a supernova...
19 Nov, 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
SALT sees double in The Hourglass Nebula
The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in Sutherland has discovered a binary star system in ...
28 May, 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
SALT and SAAO telescopes investigate the origin of the first detection of gravitational waves produced by two colliding neutron stars
SALT and SAAO telescopes partake in an unprecedented international collaboration to investigate the origin of the first detection of gravitational wav...
16 Oct, 2017
Recovery of nova spotted by ancient Koreans illuminates many stages of star system’s life cycle
On a cold March night in Seoul almost 600 years ago, Korean astronomers spotted a bright new star in the tail of the constellation Scorpius. It was se...
30 Aug, 2017
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
SAAO helps to reveal seven new Earth-sized planets
A new system of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a star 40 light years away has been discovered using data from South African Astronomical Observato...
24 Feb, 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