The University of Cape Town has unveiled a new high powered, multimillion-rand telescope in Sutherland called the MeerLICHT Optical Telescope.
The name of the telescope is the Dutch word for 'more light' because the telescope has been set up to assist scientists by shedding more light on the vast cosmos.
The telescope is a sister to the MeerKAT radio array telescope and provides a real-time optical view of the radio sky as observed by MeerKAT. As a result, scientists will now be able to view and study galaxies in a whole new and deeper way, allowing them to gain a much greater understanding and the ability to gain more data than ever before.
The telescope uses a 110-megapixel detector which is the largest single detector used in optical astronomy anywhere in the world, allowing scientists to view objects one million times fainter than is possible with the naked eye. It not only provides excellent resolution but also has an exceptionally wide field of view, an area of more than 13 times the full moon.
The MeerLICHT will collect and store data on transient astronomical events such as stellar explosions and a whole host of other astronomical phenomena.
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The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) was established in 1972 and is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa.
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The Cape Town Science Centre is a children’s museum for all ages that features over 250 interactive exhibits and puzzles.
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