The Minister of Science and Technology, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubani, has Friday 07 September 2018 launched the Mahikeng Astronomy Telescope (MAT) at the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Mahikeng. This put the institution on par with well-established institutions such as the universities of the Western Cape and Cape Town.
The MAT is co-funded by the Department of Science and Technology in an effort to develop astronomy and related sciences at historically disadvantaged universities. It also demonstrates the country’s growing capabilities in the field, led by world-class projects like the building of the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope, which excites the global scientific community.
The MAT programme is led by Prof Thebe Medupe who started astronomy in the former Physics Department on the campus in 2010, attracting students and postdoctoral fellows to the NWU.
Speaking during the launch, Kubayi-Ngubani thanked Medupe for seeing the project through to its successful completion.
I am pleased that the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme, chaired by Prof. Medupe, has made significant progress towards the achievement of its goals, especially growing the number of black students and graduates who are participating in this field
Mmaloko Kubayi-Ngubani
Currently, the campus’ subject group Physics has four astronomers with PhDs, one student completing his PhD and two space scientists, as well as many other physicists. Several top astronomers have also been to the campus to do research, demonstrating that the programme has the potential for further growth.
I must say we share the same passion, not only in making sure that children from black communities have access to information about fields that were not exposed to black communities, but also in enabling them to experience activities within astronomy
Mmaloko Kubayi-Ngubani
The telescope is a 16-inch Meade LX200 GPS, which is housed at the Mahikeng Astronomical Observatory. It will be operated remotely, which will allow learners and educators to access it from anywhere in the country, making the MAT a powerful teaching tool.
Prof. Thebe Medupe said the Mahikeng Astronomy Telescope would help NWU to attract more black students to science and astronomy, and the impact of this would be seen in the future as more black scientists emerged.
The telescope will be used for bright star research 60% of the time, allowing astronomers at the campus in Mahikeng to study the interiors and the evolution of stars. Since it can be operated remotely, it will also be used for outreach purposes across the country.
The telescope will also be used to train postgraduate students in observational and data analysis techniques. As a result, the telescope will contribute towards building a more inclusive astronomy community, since most of the students being trained are black South Africans
Medupe Thebe
The MAT launch follows hard on the heels of major recent developments in South African astronomy, including the launches of the 64-dish MeerKAT radio telescope, the MeerLICHT telescope, and the Hydrogen Intensity and Real Time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) telescope.
The Mahikeng Astronomy Observatory also houses other smaller telescopes, including an 8-inch Celestron telescope and smaller refractors. All of these will be made available for viewing by the public during regular open nights.