Image: Nasa The design for Africa2Moon, the African radio telescope selected to fly to the lunar south pole aboard China’s Chang’e-8 mission in 2029, has been published in Nature Astronomy. The paper sets out how the instrument is meant to work – and the mechanism is stranger than the mission summary suggested. The three Bounced…
Purple Group, the JSE-listed owner of EasyEquities, is acquiring Telescope AI, the Australian start-up whose technology already powers the investment platform’s AI Baskets feature, in a deal worth up to US$10.75-million (R177-million). Purple Group and EasyEquities operator First World Trader will each acquire 50% of Telescope AI from the Pettett Family Trust and three key…
Nestled in the Great Basin, a remote stretch of the Nevada desert is set to become home to the world’s most sensitive radio telescope array. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The California Institute of Technology, which is leading the project, announced last week that it…
Astronomers led by the University of Pretoria have discovered the most distant and powerful natural radio laser ever observed. Detected by the MeerKAT radio telescope in the Northern Cape, the signal originated from a galaxy more than eight billion light-years away, traveling across space since the universe was less than half its current age. Read:…
Astronomers utilizing South Africa’s Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) have settled a high-stakes cosmic debate surrounding WOH G64, one of the most extreme stars ever recorded. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, this red supergiant is renowned for its immense luminosity and massive dust clouds. However, recent erratic behaviour, including dramatic dimming and weakened pulsations,…
Astronomers using South Africa’s Southern African Large Telescope (Salt) near Sutherland in the Northern Cape have solved a cosmic mystery surrounding one of the most extreme stars ever observed. WOH G64, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, is famous for being one of the most luminous, coolest and…
The “big lift” of the main reflector onto the pedestal for the first SKA-Mid production dish on site in South Africa. The lift took place on 4 July 2024. Photo credit: SKAO/Max Alexander, CC BY 3.0 South Africa’s role at the heart of one of the world’s most ambitious scientific instruments moved a step closer…
The Southern African Large Telescope, or Salt The Southern African Large Telescope (Salt) celebrates 20 years of observing the sky. Salt is the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. It’s been steadily revealing new science knowledge, ranging from the discovery of planets outside our solar system to understanding the unusual physics around black holes….
A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of a grand and graceful cosmic butterfly. The National Science Foundation’s NoirLab released the picture on Wednesday. The glowing “wings” appear to be bursting in the image. While the bipolar nebula goes by the monikers Butterfly Nebula, Bug Nebula or Caldwell 69, its official name…
A new image shows the growing tail of a comet from another star system streaking across our solar system. The image of comet 3I/ATLAS was captured on Aug. 27 using one of the telescopes at the International Gemini Observatory in Chile during a public outreach event allowing students to work with astronomers. The comet is…
