Due to the COVID-19 virus, all visits, tours and open nights have been cancelled until further notice both in Sutherland and in Cape Town. The visitors centre in Sutherland is closed. Please email suthbookings@saao.ac.za or phone 076 900 0308 if you have any queries regarding bookings and tours for Sutherland.
During this time of lockdown we offer Online Open Nights.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
SAAO’s headquarters are found in the Cape Town suburb of Observatory on the site of the former Royal Observatory. The historic building is recognised as a National Heritage Site, and houses administration facilities, offices, and the SAAO library.
You are welcome to visit the SAAO in Cape Town on SAAO Open Nights, on the second and fourth Saturday of every month at 20:00. All Open Nights include a presentation on topics of astronomy or physics, and an introduction to the historic McClean telescope, the observatory museum, and the library. If the weather is clear, there will be a chance for stargazing using the McClean and other telescopes set up for the night.
Online Open Nights
During the time of lockdown, the SAAO is offering Online Open Nights.
| Speaker | Title |
|---|---|
| Dr. Sthabile Kolwa (IDIA/UCT) | How radio waves from distant galaxies tell us about the early Universe |
| Dr Iniyan Natarajan | Seeing the Unseeable: Imaging a black hole |
Cape Town Open Nights
| Date | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 28th Mar 2020 | Amidou Sorgho | The dark side of galaxies |
| 14th Mar 2020 | Dr. Iniyan Natarajan | Do not go gentle into that good night |
| 22nd Feb 2020 | Professor Paul Groot | Gravitational wave astronomy |
| 8th Feb 2020 | Professor Benjamin Stappers | Fast Radio Bursts – Extragalactic Radio Emission of Unknown Origin |
| 25th Jan 2020 | Dr Werner Janse van Rensburg | High Performance Computing: Initiatives in South Africa and Beyond |
| 11th Jan 2020 | Dr. Sarah White | The brightest galaxies in the radio sky |
| 14th Dec 2019 | Dr. Fangxia An | Galaxies in the Universe |
| 23rd Nov 2019 | Dr. Nidhi Pant | First light in the Universe |
| 9th Nov 2019 | Mr. Joshua Kotlowitz | Remote Laser Propulsion: The answer to interstellar travel |
| 26th Oct 2019 | Professor Mario Santos | My job as a cosmologist |