Description
In the era of technological advancement astronomers want to build the most powerful telescope ever, to see back to before the first stars and galaxies formed. The SKA will be a radio telescope - instead of seeing light waves, it will make pictures from radio waves. Sarah Wild's Searching African Skies is the story of South African radio astronomy and the quest to hear the songs of the stars. What, exactly, is the Square Kilometre Array? How did South Africa end up bidding against Australia to host the largest scientific instrument on Earth? What does it hope to find in outer space? Are we alone in the universe? Will we be able to see as far back as the big bang? And can a developing country justify building a massive radio telescope at the expense of housing, healthcare and meeting basic needs? Jacana presents the book that shall answer these questions.
An ambitious scientific project is unfolding in the desert of South Africa, with a multidecade time line that will eventually see expansion into Western Australia--a project that is detailed and celebrated in this book on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The SKA will be the largest and most sensitive radio telescope, expanding the capabilities of scientific probing and addressing significant unanswered questions about the universe, such as the formation of galaxies and the nature of gravity. Technology correspondent Sarah Wild covers the important development with this exploration of its implications on an international scale as well as its South African context, from the first telescope built in the country in the 1960s to Xhosa starlore. Interspersed with -Xam bushmen stories rewritten from original manuscripts, this consideration is an informed and thoughtful insight into an exciting step in astronomy.
About the Author
Award-winning science columnist Sarah Wild is currently the Science and Technology Editor at Business Day. She has a Bachelor of Science in Physics, Electronics and English Literature, specialising in radio astronomy. This is her first full-length African
Book Information
ISBN 9781431404728
Author Sarah Wild
Format Paperback
Page Count 216
Imprint Jacana Media
Publisher Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd
An ambitious scientific project is unfolding in the desert of South Africa, with a multidecade time line that will eventually see expansion into Western Australia--a project that is detailed and celebrated in this book on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The SKA will be the largest and most sensitive radio telescope, expanding the capabilities of scientific probing and addressing significant unanswered questions about the universe, such as the formation of galaxies and the nature of gravity. Technology correspondent Sarah Wild covers the important development with this exploration of its implications on an international scale as well as its South African context, from the first telescope built in the country in the 1960s to Xhosa starlore. Interspersed with -Xam bushmen stories rewritten from original manuscripts, this consideration is an informed and thoughtful insight into an exciting step in astronomy.
About the Author
Award-winning science columnist Sarah Wild is currently the Science and Technology Editor at Business Day. She has a Bachelor of Science in Physics, Electronics and English Literature, specialising in radio astronomy. This is her first full-length African
Book Information
ISBN 9781431404728
Author Sarah Wild
Format Paperback
Page Count 216
Imprint Jacana Media
Publisher Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd
