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The greatest showdown on Earth | The South African

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The greatest showdown on Earth

South Africa and Australia are engaged in a furious rivalry, not over oil or land (or cricket this time), but for scientific prestige and the chance to host a machine so powerful it will be able to see back to the beginning of the Universe.
By Dan Swinhoe on 3 April, 2012 8:24 am in Business, Business News / no comments / EDIT

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Australia, Dr Bernie Fanaroff, Karoo radio astronomy reserve, MeerKAT, SKA, SKA South Africa Human Capital Development, south africa, square kilometre array

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South Africa could soon host the Square Kilometre Array, the most powerful telescope in history. All photos by SPDO/Swinburne Astronomy Productions.

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South Africa and Australia are competing to host to host the Square Kilometre Array, a machine so powerful it will be able to see traces of stellar activity, post Big Bang. This billion pound telescope will be the most powerful on Earth, running until at least 2050 and employing thousands. Both nations have been working on their bids since 2006 for the chance to become the world leader in astronomy, and the end is very close. The SKA board were expected to announce the winner of the bid when they meet in Amsterdam on 3 April. But after several meetings to discuss the bids and advisory panel findings, the deliberations are so finely balanced that its very likely it will take longer for a final decision to be made. The SKA will be 50 times more potent than its predecessors. Made up of 3,000 smaller dishes of three types, the total collecting area will be 1km2. The receptors will be arranged in five spiral arms from a central core, if SA wins the bid, at the Karoo radio astronomy reserve in the Northern Cape, to countries as far as Kenya and Ghana. It will attempt to answer big scientific questions about the beginnings of the Universe, the mysterious dark matter, and Einsteins theories on gravity. In a week it will collect more information than the human race has measured in its entire history. The final decision will be made by a panel of experts from five countries; China, Italy, the Netherlands Britain and Canada. According to the science journal Nature, a panel has narrowly recommended SA over Australia, but both remain in close contention.
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So what does SA have to offer? The remote Karoo site boasts clear skies free from light pollution and radio interference, and good infrastructure. The country also offers political stability and a nation dedicated to improving its standing within the scientific community, not to mention cheaper construction costs. The Astronomy Geographical Advantage Bill may be a deciding factor. Passed in 2007, the act declared nearly 300,000 km2 in the Karoo protected for the SKA, and aims to keep the whole Northern Cape free from interference from transmitters. At present, people dont see Africa as a place where you do world-class science, that produces world-class technology. They see it as a place where you do research into things such as food security and health, said Director of the SKA South Africa Project, Dr Bernie Fanaroff. South Africa has a ringside seat for observing the Universe, and we are doing our best to bring this mega science instrument to this continent. Projects are already underway at the Karoo site to prove SAs ambition. Work on MeerKAT, a precursor to SKA, has begun and the Northern Cape already hosts SALT (The Southern African Large Telescope), one of the biggest single optical telescopes in the world. Winning SKA would be a massive boost to the countrys standing within the scientific community, as the project has a good chance of winning Nobel prizes from the projects research. Hosting the worlds most powerful telescope would inevitably draw foreign investment to South Africa, but the list of SA companies already employed for the implementation of MeerKAT is impressive; Sentech to ensure radio silence, BVi to manage infrastructure, and EMSS to development the antennae to name a few. Eskom has also promised to power a substantial amount of the project with renewable energy provided by solar power plants in the Northern Cape. The investment seems to be working. MeerKATs first seven dishes, KAT-7, the produced the first atomic hydrogen images of a nearby galaxy. Our team in the SKA South Africa project and universities have again shown that they can deliver cutting-edge technology and do excellent science on a very tight schedule, said Fanaroff. To increase the number of students in Radio Astronomy, bursaries are given out through the SKA South Africa Human Capital Development programme, with a focus on increasing the number and black and female students on board. So far more than 300 students have benefitted from these bursaries Fanaroff has promised that the people working on this project are destined to be.come experts in future technologies that will be in high demand around the globe.
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SKA in numbers: 13.7 billion Years back the telescope will be looking 3,000 Dishes will make up the telescope 100 Scientists currently working on SKAs precursor MeerKAT 2021 Expected completion date 1.5 billion Cost to build Benefits: Prestige of hosting one of the biggest scientific projects in the world Motivation for young people to get into science Improve the quality and standing of SA universities Strong potential for Nobel prizes Thousands of jobs Potential investment Big investment in green energy for the project

SA offers: Cost advantage would be cheaper to build & operate in SA Good existing infrastructure at proposed site, making it radio-quiet yet accessible Relatively close to academic institutions in Stellenbosch, Grahamstown and Cape Town Shares time zones & skies with Europe, meaning better communication with other institutions, as well as good line connections Proven capabilities with MeerKAT Involves many countries in Africa: Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Kenya, Zambia and Ghana Oz offers: Ease of doing business (NZ & Oz ranked 2nd & 9th out of 181 ) Oz would able to spread the dishes over a wider baseline area Already hosts several astronomy projects, including the Murchison Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Australian SKA Pathfinder

Q&A with Dr Bernie Fanaroff

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Dr Fanaroff studied physics at the University of the Witwatersrand and gained his PhD in Radio Astronomy from Cambridge University. He talked to us about the SKA bid. What will winning the bid mean to the country that gets it? As well as the investment benefit and job creation therell be a lot of prestige attached; a lot of attention. What happens to the country that doesnt win the bid? There is the possibility that members and stakeholders will get together and discuss and see how everyone involved in the bid can benefit from the telescope. How much support have you had from Government? Weve had a tremendous amount of support from our government, and of course from Africa Union Heads of state, so were very happy with the support weve had. I think the Australians have also had a lot of support from their government, but Im not in a position to say for sure. Will the fact Professor Richard Schilizzi (Director of the international SKA project) was educated in Australia affect the bid? No, I dont think so How many jobs will the SKA create? For at least 10 years there will be a construction that will involve several thousand people. There will also be manufacturing for the dishes and electronics, and ongoing employment in maintaining the infrastructure, which could involve at least 2,000 technicians, engineers and artisans. Then there will be be all kinds of administrative, catering and accommodation staff and so on, and as a spin-off there will be a lot of visitors to the site. Until theres a much better idea of the exact design and construction its very hard to put numbers on it. If the SKA is built in Africa the spin-off into industry is substantial, so the skills that will be developed and are already being developed by our team will be the basis for a generation of young people with world-class skills in high tech areas.

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Dr Bernie Fanaroff, Head of the SKA bid.

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