MeerKAT launch with dramatic Milky Way black hole image

[Lament]

Deputy president David Mabuza officially unveiled the 64 dish radio telescope array in Carnarvon in the Northern Cape on Friday.

Astronomers showed off the best radio image yet taken of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy as a demonstration of the capability of the instrument that will eventually form part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

READ: SA's MeerKAT astronomers score massive win in discovering super magnetic star secrets

The black hole galaxy centre is about 25 000 light years away from Earth is difficult to image because it's hidden by stellar dust and gas.

While the MeerKAT is a local project, it forms part of a larger vision to grow radio astronomy on the continent and is intended to dovetail with the mammoth SKA which will consist of about 3 000 linked radio telescopes.

"Other African partner countries will host the outer stations of the telescope during SKA phase 2 in later years and we have signed an MOU with them to commit ourselves to grow the field of astronomy in their countries," Takalani Nemaungani, the Department of Science and Technology's chief director for the SKA and African Very Long Baseline Interferometry, told News24.

More @ https://www.news24.com/Green/News/s...-dramatic-milky-way-black-hole-image-20180713

 

[MirageF1]

Great to hear...we have some of the best,darkest observing sites inland in the world...still relatively pristine compared to many highly densely populated and light polluted areas elsewhere on the globe.

Still planning a trip to Sutherland...will take some of my astro equip up and collect some decent photons.

p.s the article fails to mention the resolution of the array..i'm guessing in the sub arcsec " range at least

 

[Arthur]

Great to hear...we have some of the best,darkest observing sites inland in the world...still relatively pristine compared to many highly densely populated and light polluted areas elsewhere on the globe.

MeerKAT doesn't use the visible light spectrum. It's a radio telescope array.

 

[MirageF1]

MeerKAT doesn't use the visible light spectrum. It's a radio telescope array.

I know, was merely mentioning LP

 

[Arthur]

I know, was merely mentioning LP

Of course you know. Was just saying for those who might not.

 

[Archer]

I still get blown away with the amount of raw data they generate - roughly 50TB per day

 

[MirageF1]

I still get blown away with the amount of raw data they generate - roughly 50TB per day

Where did you read that? 50TB?!!!

 

[Gordon_R]

Where did you read that? 50TB?!!!

From the original article:

MeerKAT by the numbers:

Data 1712 million samples per second

Multiply the sample size (in bytes) and rate by 86400 seconds per day, and you get very large numbers...

More information on Wikpedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MeerKAT

 

[Techne]

I hope they discover something really great...

That pic though.

Looks like somebody looked into the sun and took pictures with their eyeball after closing their eyes.

 

[Gordon_R]

Good background story: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/art...earest-ever-image-of-supermassive-black-hole/

The image gets the headlines, but the underlying data is more scientifically relevant.