Unisa online - CSET boosts astronomy awareness in Botswana

Because South Africa is the only country in Africa with any significant astronomical expertise, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is keen to assist neighboring countries with human capital development in astronomy. To this end, with funding provided by DST and the University of Botswana, Prof Derck Smits from the Astronomy Section of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Unisa was invited to visit the Physics Department of the University of Botswana from 26 to 30 March 2012.  

Daily lectures on astronomical topics were presented at the university to an audience of about 50 staff and students. Because this is the first exposure many of them have had to Kepler’s Laws, the evolution of stars and the large scale structure of the Universe, the lectures were descriptive rather than containing lots of technical detail, but judging by the questions asked after the lectures, generated lots of interest. Discussions on research opportunities were held with staff members from the Physics Department.

To increase science awareness amongst younger learners, a slide show was presented at schools in Lobatse and Gaborone for three evenings. The enthusiasm at the schools was tremendous; over 1800 learners attended these events. The presentations were followed by naked-eye stargazing sessions, during which various constellations and the planets Jupiter, Venus and Saturn were pointed out to the learners.

The response from the school learners and university students was very positive and hopefully the foundation has been laid for further collaboration between UB and Unisa in developing astronomy. 

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a proposed array of radio dishes that will have a surface collecting area of a square kilometre, making it the most sensitive radio telescope ever constructed. With arms extending out for several thousand kilometres from a central core, it will be capable of making images of radio-emitting astronomical objects with extremely high resolution. The sensitivity and resolution of the SKA will open new doors for astronomical investigations, allowing us our first opportunity to look back in time to an epoch soon after the Big Bang.

A decision on whether to site this state-of-the-art international project in Australia/New Zealand or Africa is still pending. If Africa is chosen, the core of the array will be situated near Carnarvon in the Karoo with arms of the telescope extending into Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar and Mauritius.

*Story submitted by Hanli Wolhüter