SKA News

Cyril Ramaphosa visits core site

Deputy President comes to Carnarvon with a big delegation and lots of enthusiasm. PAGE 8

ISSUE #2 2015 Quarterly newsletter for South Africa’s Square Kilometre Array project

PAGE 18

MeerKAT standing tall in the Karoo Third and fourth antennas now in place

African allies come together Ministers from all 9 partner countries at the annual indaba

Support from Cisco Systems

Centre for Broadband Communication established at NMMU

Close relations of the 3rd kind

The 3GC family of calibration techniques relates numbers off telescopes to physical quantities

CREATING WORLD LEADING RESEARCHERS Supporting science and engineering undergraduate and postgraduate students, postdoctoral fellows and academics.

6 RESEARCH CHAIRS

Developing the skills required to design, operate and use the MeerKAT and SKA

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

The YPDP gives academically excellent science and engineering graduates and postgraduates the opportunity to work for the SKA South African Project.

Filled by world-leading researchers, have created significant research capacity at SA universities.

SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE

In obtaining technician and artisan qualifications to address skills requirements for the maintenance and operations of the SKA and MeerKAT.

Transforming the science and technology landscape in Africa Providing opportunities to young people to be part of an exciting mega-science project

IN THIS ISSUE

Contents FOREWORD 02 Dr Bernie Fanaroff Moving ahead IN AND AROUND SKA 04 SKA news 04 China-SA astronomy workshop 04 MeerKAT panel manufacturing 05 BRICS countries working group 05 New UK home for SKAO 05 Ethernet switches and cables 06 Newton Fund for training 07 International pulsar workshop WORLD OF SKA 12 SKA features 08 Deputy President Ramaphosa visits core site 09 Cisco supports SKA 10 African partner countries in ministerial meeting 14 Third-generation imaging (3GC) 18 MeerKAT update OUT AND ABOUT 15

SKA people 16 Professor Justin Jonas 17 Nkululeko Qwaba OUTREACH 18 SKA community 19 SKA at SciFest Africa & more

Contributor PROF OLEG SMIRNOV SKA Research Chair Oleg is the head of the Rhodes University Centre for Radio Astronomy Techniques and Technologies (RATT), where they have produced a world-record 5 million dynamic range image.

Turn to page 14 for his piece on 3rd generation calibration (3GC).

Published by the South African SKA Project.

Editor Lorenzo Raynard lraynard@ska.ac.za

Cyril Ramaphosa visits core site

Deputy President comes to Carnarvon with a big delegation and lots of enthusiasm. PAGE 8

ISSUE #2 2015

Editorial production, design & layout GAPdesign info@gapdesign.co.za

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR SOUTH AFRICA’S SQUARE KILOMETRE ARRAY PROJECT

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MeerKAT standing tall in the Karoo Third and fourth antennas now in place

SKA SA Project Office 17 Baker Street, Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa MeerKAT Engineering Office 3rd floor, The Park, Park Road, Pinelands, South Africa Tel. +27 (0) 21 506 7300

African allies come together Ministers from all 9 partner countries at the annual indaba

Support from Cisco Systems

Centre for Broadband Communication established at NMMU

Close relations of the 3rd kind

The 3GC family of calibration techniques relates numbers off telescopes to physical quantities

FOREWORD

Moving ahead

T

he international SKA Organisation (SKAO) has taken crucial steps forward and is now well on track to build the world’s largest telescope.

In March 2015, the board of directors and the members of the organisation agreed to the proposal for re-baselining the first phase of SKA, called SKA1. This was done to ensure that SKA1 could be built within the cost cap of €650 million but still have the capability to carry out the science that it will be expected to do.

SKAO will build 133 dishes at Losberg in the Karoo – all of them 15m diameter – and 125 000 low-frequency antennas in Western Australia.

SKAO will also invest in the development of various technologies in the Advanced Instrumentation Programme and will eventually take over the operational cost of the Australian ASKAP telescope.

The 64-dish MeerKAT radio telescope, being built at Losberg, will be integrated into the SKA1-MID telescope when the MeerKAT science programme is completed. So SKA1-MID will consist of 197 dishes in an array spread over 150km around Losberg.

Following the re-baselining decision, the SKA office will produce a second version of the baseline design for SKA1 and the detailed design of the SKA1 systems will now proceed through the international consortia.

They have all completed their preliminary design reviews.

New headquarters

In April 2015 SKAO members chose Jodrell Bank in the UK as their permanent HQ. Proposals were received from the UK and Italy and both were excellent – exceeding the criteria set by the SKAO board.

The Prime Minister of each country

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confirmed his support for SKA in writing and it was very encouraging to see how seriously SKA is being taken in these countries. It confirms that the SKA project is now seen internationally as a mature and important global undertaking.

Treaty organisation

South Africa and Australia are jointly convening negotiations between SKAO members to establish the SKA Inter-Governmental Organisation, which will be a treaty organisation.

The preparatory meeting takes place in June 2015. There is still a lot of work to be done to agree the policies and agreements that will govern SKAO and the construction process.

MeerKAT

Our MeerKAT telescope is progressing well. Deputy President Cyril Ramphosa visited the site in February, with Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor and ministers of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee (PICC).

The Deputy President saw the first two MeerKAT dishes on-site and was impressed and excited about the work.

He emphasised the importance of SKA and the development of young people in the fields of science and engineering.

We now have four MeerKAT dishes on-site and several others in production. Acceptance testing and commissioning are proceeding on schedule.

Young professionals

The SKA South Africa Young Professionals Programme has commenced and we have some outstanding young people working with us. They are keen to share their excitement about careers in science and engineering with their peers and have been doing outreach events.

We would like to expand this part of the project as there are many excellent young people who would benefit both the project and our country.

Human capital development is a key part of the project. Since 2005, we have awarded nearly 700 grants for study – from artisans to post-doctoral fellows. Our bursary programme has shown an exceptionally good success rate, with a percentage of graduates far higher than the national average, and higher than many other bursary programmes.

We’ve given about 40 bursaries for students from the Karoo to study at Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in the Northern Cape.

Several bursary holders are employed

by SKA South Africa at Losberg, or at our Klerefontein support base. Bursary holders are really distinguishing themselves as role models in their Karoo communities.

Big Data Africa

The Big Data Africa programme is gaining momentum. It was enthusiastically received by the science ministers from our African partner countries when they met in Pretoria in March 2015. Analysing large data sets for astronomy will help to develop scientific research communities and the skills necessary to develop Big Data capacity in South Africa as well as our partner countries.

We have a superb team of highly committed and very skilled people working in the SKA South Africa project office, in universities and among industry partners.

We are making great strides in delivering the MeerKAT and good progress on the SKA. Already, there are many publications coming from the team. Young astronomers and instrumentalists have a lot to look forward to. These are exciting times.

Dr Bernie Fanaroff SKA South Africa Project Director

€650m SKA1 COST CAP

125 000 low-frequency

antennas will be built in Western Australia

64 MeerKAT dishes

SKAO will build 133 dishes at Losberg in the Karoo ((allall 15m diameter diameter)) WILL 197 SKA1-MID CONSIST OF 197 DISHES IN AN ARRAY SPREAD OVER 150km AROUND LOSBERG

700

Since 2005, nearly 700 study grants have been awarded – from artisans to post-doctoral fellows

40

SKAO has given about 40 bursaries to students from the Karoo for studies at FET colleges in the Northern Cape

We are making great strides in delivering the MeerKAT and good progress on the SKA.

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SKANEWS What is going on in and around SKA?

China-SA astronomy workshop A workshop for Chinese-South Africa collaboration in astronomy was held in March. The event, held at SKA South Africa, was hosted by National Research Foundation (NRF) Deputy CEO, Professor Nithaya Chetty. The Chinese delegation was led by China’s Deputy Director General of National Astronomical Observatories, Professor Jinxin Hao. Presentations on astronomy research and facilities in South Africa and China were followed by a tour of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) at Sutherland and the SKA South Africa core site at Carnarvon.

Chinese and South African astronomers share many research interests: observational, theoretical and computational studies of the sun and space weather; exoplanets; stellar astrophysics and astro-seismology; star formation; evolution of low- and high-mass stars; interstellar medium and astro-chemistry; galactic chemical evolution; transient phenomena; pulsars; neutral hydrogen in galaxies; active galactic nuclei and high-redshift galaxies; galaxy evolution and more.

Both countries are developing virtual observatories and have interests in astronomical outreach and education.

More workshops will take place in future.

Areas of strategic importance for the China-South Africa partnership include the SKA and MeerKAT, VLBI networks, SALT and other optical facilities, multi-wavelength investigations of time-variable sources, astrophysical phenomena and expanded student and post-doctoral training.

The Chinese delegation was given a tour of the SKA facilities in Cape Town, including a tour of the control room.

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Sub-reflectors

Manufacturing facility opens in Johannesburg The facility that will manufacture sub-reflectors for the MeerKAT was opened by the Director General of the South African Department of Science and Technology, Dr Phil Mjwara, in Germiston in April.

This facility, as well as the one in Kempton Park that manufactures panels for the MeerKAT, were built by Stratosat Datacom of the Schauenburg International Group.

Stratosat has formed strategic partnerships to deliver the MeerKAT project. They will work with Dutch company Airborne International who are experts at engineering high-end composite products such as the ones required for the MeerKAT sub-reflectors. They have also joined forces with US firm General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies who design and build advanced radio telescope antennas, to install the 64 x 13.5m Offset Gregorian antennas for the MeerKAT. The first shipment of materials arrived from the US in February, so production of the composite sub-reflectors is under way.

The CEO of Schauenburg International Group, Florian Schauenburg, said, “One of our fundamental business principles is ‘growing in partnerships’, so we’re committed to fostering a foothold in South Africa through technology transfer and creating local job opportunities. I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished so far – in cooperation with domestic and foreign suppliers.”

The SKA South Africa tender for the MeerKAT antennas stipulated that at least 75% of the contract value must be spent locally and that there had to be a transfer of skills and knowledge to South Africans.

75%

“We’re committed to fostering a foothold in South Africa through technology transfer and creating local job opportunities.” THE CONTRACT – Florian Schauenburg CEO of Schauenburg International Group

VALUE THAT MUST BE SPENT LOCALLY

IN AND AROUND SKA NEWS

Ethernet switches & cables

South Africa to convene astronomy working group of BRICS countries South Africa’s Science and Technology Minister, Naledi Pandor, recently returned from the second BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting in Brazil. The BRICS countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

At the gathering, South Africa was mandated to convene and lead the BRICS Astronomy Working Group to implement cooperation under the BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Memorandum of Understanding that was signed at the meeting.

Minister Pandor reminded delegates that South Africa is leading the BRICS cooperation in astronomy and spoke of the stellar success story that is SKA, which will see South Africa hosting, along with Australia and eight other African countries, the world’s biggest radio telescope. She indicated that the world’s leading radio astronomers, including some from BRICS countries, have already been allocated observing time on the MeerKAT, precursor to the SKA. The ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation, as well as the Brasilia Declaration that reaffirms and strengthens the priorities set out at their first meeting in Cape Town in February 2014.

Brazil and Russia both expressed interest in exploring possible participation in the SKA project. Minister Pandor’s team briefed the Brazilian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Aldo Rebelo, on the SKA and he expressed interest in the project. Minister Pandor also informed Russian Deputy Minister of Education and Science, Ludmila Ogorodova, that she’d like to see Russia as full members of the SKA Organisation.

New SKA Organisation HQ The members of the SKA Organisation (SKAO) decided in April to commence negotiations with the UK government to locate the permanent headquarters of the SKA project at the University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank site.

Member bids were invited in 2014, for the process of selecting the permanent headquarters. Two bids were received – from Italy and the United Kingdom. They were both judged to be excellent.

The UK plan is backed by the UK government via the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the University of Manchester, Cheshire East Council, as well as Oxford and Cambridge Universities. It includes the design and construction of a unique campus for the SKA project, with space to grow if required in future.

The Italian government was sincerely thanked for their compelling bid, which demonstrated the high profile that the project has acquired in Italy. Work will continue with Italian representatives to ensure that visibility and political support for the project in Italy continue, maximising engagement.

“Italy has been a key partner of the SKA since the early stages”, said Professor Phil Diamond, Director General of the SKA Organisation. “I’m confident they’ll maintain a high level of engagement. I look forward to working with them, and with all the partner countries, as we move into the next phase of the SKA.”

SKA South Africa has appointed leading supplier of end-to-end InfiniBand and Ethernet interconnect solutions and services, Mellanox Technologies, via local partner Eclipse Holdings, as supplier of ethernet switches and optical cables. A highcapacity L3 multicast network will be built to accelerate the MeerKAT radio telescope.

SKA South Africa Sub-system Manager, Francois Kapp, says, “The MeerKAT antennas will generate data equivalent to more than five million DVDs a day, or about 64 DVDs per second. These enormous numbers require high-bandwidth, low-jitter networks. A comprehensive review of the products on the market, led to the conclusion that these switches and cables would provide the best value enterprise class ethernet for all our systems requirements.”

WHAT ARE WE GETTING? • SWITCHX-2-BASED SX1012 AND SX1710 10/40GB ETHERNET SWITCHES • LINKX OPTICAL CABLES

5million DVD

THE MeerKAT ANTENNAS WILL GENERATE AS MUCH DATA IN 1 DAY, AS WOULD FIT ONTO 5 MILLION DVDs, EQUIVALENT TO

FILLING 64 DVDs PER SECOND #2 2015

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Newton Fund awards SKA South Africa funding for training The UK government’s Newton Fund Africa has granted funding for the development of the Africa Astronomy Training Programme (ATP), an intervention of SKA South Africa.

The ATP is an ambitious training and development initiative in radio astronomy and related fields. It focuses on developing scientific, technical and

engineering expertise in the eight SKA Africa partner countries, specifically: • Producing African astronomers who are able to use the scientific data from the radio telescopes that are being built in their countries.

• Establishing technical and engineering capacity in each partner country for the design, construction, maintenance and

What is the Newton Fund?

operations phases of the radio telescope infrastructure to be built for the SKA and African VLBI Network.

There will also be initiatives such as hands-on training workshops and knowledge sharing opportunities through guest lecturer exchange programmes.

These will rotate so that capacity is developed in all partner countries.

The Newton Fund is a UK-SA collaboration spanning five years. It includes £925 000 in South African activities funded by the Department of Science and Technology, plus £500 000 in UK activities funded by the Newton Fund.

The establishment of teaching and training centres for radio astronomy (engineering and science) in the AVN and Africa partner countries will include joint exchange visits. There will be an active exchange of teaching and research staff within Africa, and from the UK, to build a research community.

The Newton Fund Africa will see £185 000 spent in 2015, primarily to be used for equipment and training

by SKA South Africa.

Equipment

Half of the funds covers training equipment for the MeerKAT and SKA sites in South Africa. This builds on an existing artisan training programme of SKA South Africa and the new Women Working for Water programme, both with a strong focus on developing local skills to benefit communities near the telescope site. Funds have also been used to purchase 20 laptops and a dedicated server for the mobile AstroLab for training workshops.

Training

Two training workshops will be financed by the Newton Fund in 2015.

1 Science workshop Machine learning applied to astronomy and radio astronomy, to be held in Mauritius.

2 Train the trainers

Training individuals to conduct skills transfer workshops, with participants from the nine African partner countries being joined by two guest lecturers from the UK.

The African partners are expected to map out their vision of growing a science and technology base in radio astronomy to build on existing strengths within their countries. The longer-term vision is to inform the types of workshops to be carried out through the broader ATP programme.

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IN AND AROUND SKA NEWS

130

RESEARCHERS

TO BE TRAINED TO USE TELESCOPES IN GHANA, KENYA & ZAMBIA, PLUS THE HartRAO TELESCOPE IN SOUTH AFRICA.

WHO BENEFITS?

Zambia, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana will be first to benefit through the establishment of robust research communities.

20

There are 20 laptops and a dedicated server in the mobile AstroLab, to be used for training workshops.

2

TRAINING WORKSHOPS WILL BE FINANCED

BY THE NEWTON FUND IN 2015.

The third and fourth MeerKAT antennas.

First international pulsar workshop SKA South Africa hosted a workshop on pulsars at their offices in CapeTown in April, to bring together local pulsar communities and international researchers to discuss pulsar science using South African telescopes.

About 50 people attended, half of them local and half international delegates, with discussions covering a range of topics related to MeerKAT and SKA pulsar science.

Professor Aris Karastergiou, from UWC, Rhodes University and Oxford, said, “I was impressed by the number of South African scientists with an interest in pulsars and also by the announcement at the meeting of an exciting discovery of a fast radio burst by Jonathan Sievers.” Professor Sievers is a member of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Astrophysics and Cosmology Research Unit.

Aris continued, “Pulsars are interesting objects for many reasons.

They allow us to probe gravity in unique environments. We are getting closer to using them for testing populations of extreme objects through emissions of gravitational waves.

Nearer to Earth they challenge electrical engineers and computer scientists in problems relating to extracting weak signals from noise. It’s fantastic to see a pulsar community forming in South Africa, ready to exploit the best pulsar telescopes in the world that will be built here.”

Pulsars emit across a broad range of wavelengths. In the radio band they are bright from frequencies below 100 MHz, as observed by LOFAR, to the typical GHz frequencies of observation of the world’s largest single dish telescopes. The South African radio telescopes HartRAO and KAT-7 observe at these higher frequencies.

According to Professor Karastergiou, “HartRAO has potential to be a useful training instrument for student projects, while KAT-7 is serving as a test bed for developing pulsar observing modes to be used later on the MeerKAT.” The pulsars we know of today are located in our own galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds, so the southern hemisphere offers better views and the best opportunities for discovering new galactic sources.

The MeerKAT and the SKA telescopes will increase by an order of magnitude the known population of radio pulsars, discovering sources for the best tests of general relativity. New discoveries will help us gain a better understanding of the nature of matter in the interior of pulsars and of the physical properties of interstellar space.

Specifically for the MeerKAT, the new plan for S-band receivers will help in conducting surveys toward the plane of our galaxy where interstellar material makes it difficult to find pulsars at lower frequencies. For the same reason these receivers can offer high-precision timing observations of known pulsars to complement the lower frequencies.

Given the levels of engagement and exchange of knowledge the next workshop is already being planned, possibly together with the 2015 annual meeting of the International Pulsar Timing Array collaboration.

“It’s fantastic to see a pulsar community forming in South Africa, ready to exploit the best pulsar telescopes in the world that will be built here.”

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THE DEPUTY’S VISIT

Cyril Ramaphosa visits the SKA

S

outh Africa’s Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, visited the SKA South Africa core site at Carnarvon in February.

He was joined by ministers from the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee, Botswana’s Minister of Infrastructure, Science and Technology Nonofo Molefhi, Northern Cape Premier Sylvia Lucas, Ambassadors and High Commissioners,plus mayors of surrounding towns and members of the local community.

Ramaphosa praised the SKA for the benefits it is delivering to the African continent. “The 699 post-doctoral fellows and students who have been supported through the SKA South Africa bursary and fellowship programme are at the forefront of this effort. The project is developing technical and artisanal skills while producing a new cohort of young scientists,” he said, urging those involved to take full advantage of the opportunities being presented by the project.

He also referred to the impact it could have on improving people’s lives. “The SKA project is aligned with the African Union’s 10-year Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa and will help drive human capital development on the continent.

It will contribute to Africa’s efforts to build innovation-led, knowledge-based economies. The SKA forms part of efforts to transform South Africa’s economy through human capital development, innovation, value addition, industrialisation and entrepreneurship. It will create jobs, not only during the next decade or so of construction, but also for the next 50 years of operation and maintenance. Science and technology can do much in the fight against poverty, unemployment and inequality.”

The National Development Plan (NDP) highlights the vital role of science, technology and innovation in national development and equitable growth.

He added, “Throughout human history, technological progress has fuelled economic and social development.

From agriculture to commerce, health care to communications, and manufacturing 08

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Deputy President makes a site visit to SKA South Africa and comes out strongly in support of the project.

to education – technology has transformed the human experience.”

South Africa’s Science and Technology Minister, Naledi Pandor, pledged that the SKA would stay on track. “By the end of 2016 we will have the 64 MeerKAT dishes ready and by 2017 the telescope will be ready to do science. We are proud that even before the MeerKAT has been completed, five years of observing time on it have already been allocated to more than 500 radio astronomers, 85 of them from Africa.

This demonstrates tremendous confidence in South Africa’s scientific infrastructure, in which the Department of Science and Technology continues to invest.”

699

post-doctoral fellows & students supported through the SKA South Africa bursary & fellowship programme.

ABOVE, LEFT: Minister Naledi Pandor with Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

ABOVE: Dr Bernie Fanaroff, Minister Naledi Pandor, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Northern Cape Premier Sylvia Lucas, in front of the second MeerKAT antenna that was unveiled as the Bernie Fanaroff Antenna.

5 EVEN BEFORE COMPLETION 5 YEARS OF OBSERVING TIME ON THE MEERKAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN ALLOCATED TO 500+ RADIO ASTRONOMERS, INCLUDING 85 FROM AFRICA.

64

MeerKAT dishes

will be ready by the end of 2016.

CISCO LAUNCH

S

Big data comes a long way

outh Africa’s Science and Technology Minister, Naledi Pandor, launched a partnership at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in March, establishing the Centre for Broadband Communication to be hosted by NMMU and funded jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the multinational Cisco Systems.

The centre will develop cutting-edge technology to transport and synchronise the huge amounts of data to be generated by the MeerKAT and the SKA radio telescopes. It will also provide a research hub to play a pivotal role in mega-science projects.

The antennas of the SKA radio telescope will produce huge amounts of data, needing next-generation optical fibre data transport systems.

Back in the day

SKA Associate Director, Professor Justin Jonas, illustrated how far big data has come, telling those assembled that a single MeerKAT antenna today produces in a second more than three times the amount of data which was generated over the 15-year period of an astronomy observation that commenced in the 1980s.

Infrastructure

The centre will develop fast, affordable systems to manage huge volumes of data. The head of the centre, Professor Tim Gibbon, said they’ll utilise lasers and optical fibre to connect the SKA antennas to a central supercomputer. Scientists will study telecomms technologies and optical fibre to see how temperature and environmental factors affect performance. These are extremely high bit rates over very long distances, so they need to develop cheaper, cost-effective technologies that can operate in the desert.

Transport

The transport network will operate with thousands of dishes distributed across Africa. Data from the different dishes will be processed and correlated at a central supercomputing centre. Each dish sends its individual data containing what it observes, then the supercomputer correlates and assembles the data to form a single image. Importantly, the supercomputer will synchronise data that comes in at different times.

ADSL alternative

A faster, cheaper alternative to ADSL broadband in South Africa will be created. Professor Gibbon said, “Access to the internet should be like access to water and air – something you don’t have to think about.

The technology will enable long-distance education and e-commerce, plus high-speed broadband at home.”

Economic growth

The centre will also deliver long-term growth potential for the South African economy as the advanced

network will open up high-speed internet for Voice over IP (VoIP), streaming and video.

Cisco Executive Vice President, Randy Pond, said the centre has the potential for scientific breakthroughs, requiring dramatic technology advances in both high-speed data transmission and data analytics. He announced that Cisco will provide state-of-the-art equipment of R45 million to the centre – Cisco’s largest single investment in a project globally. They have has also donated their telepresence technology to SKA South Africa and its partners, Rhodes University and NMMU, enabling them to collaborate with each other and with Cisco researchers and engineers internationally.

The future

ABOVE, LEFT: Cisco Executive Vice-President, Randy Pond, with Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor.

Minister Pandor reaffirmed the government’s commitment to investing in science and technology.

“Knowledge drives development, so the more scientific capability that’s built the better for the economy, the better innovation will be and the more advanced our society will become. That is why we are investing in science and technology – to ensure that we have projects like the SKA to help us build a strong science and technology base.”

Pond urged business to work with government to build an economically sustainable future through the intelligent application of information and communication technologies, facilitating South Africa’s active participation in the evolution of the internet to the ‘Internet of Everything’ as Cisco calls it.

ABOVE: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Andrew Leitch, presents an artwork to Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor.

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Ministerial meeting of SKA African partner countries The second annual SKA African Partner Countries Ministerial Meeting was convened in Pretoria.

M

ajor strides towards the establishment of an African Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) Network (AVN) were made at the second annual SKA African Partner Countries Ministerial Meeting in Pretoria in March.

The forum is convened every year to provide political and strategic leadership to partner countries on the AVN, the SKA and other astronomy programmes and initiatives. This year the nine SKA African partner countries – Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and South Africa – came together with six main aims (see below).

After all partner countries have consulted, a formal, multilateral agreement or ‘memorandum of understanding’ will be signed in 2016, outlining each country’s undertakings.

The readiness strategy and action plan focus on governance of the African SKA consortium, communications and outreach, human capital development, institutional capacity, technology transfer and development, roll-out and compliance, the Big Data Africa programme and strategic partnerships and funding resources.

Ministers of the partner countries committed to participating in the programmes and activities of the Joint Africa-European Union Strategic Partnership and the African-European Radio Astronomy Platform (AERAP).

The ministerial meeting in Pretoria was attended by The delegates agreed on urgent cooperation representatives from all nine SKA to compile a funding proposal for the new African partner countries – Ghana, pan-African instrument, created by the Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, European Union to support large-scale Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, science and infrastructure partnerships.

Namibia and South Africa.

MAIN AIMS OF THIS YEAR’S MEETING 1

ACCEPTING final draft of the SKA African partner countries memorandum of understanding for institutionalising cooperation in radio astronomy for in-country consultation.

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APPROVING the SKA African Readiness Strategy and Action Plan for AVN and the SKA.

3

4 INCREASING momentum on the Big Data Africa Programme for Radio Astronomy to build capacity and skills that will position the continent for opportunities in the big data revolution.

5 INTENSIFYING the Human Capital Development Programme.

6 COLLABORATING on a funding strategy for radio astronomy on the continent, including preparing a proposal to the new Pan-African instrument created by the European Union to support large-scale science and infrastructure partnerships.

DEVELOPING a governance framework for radio astronomy initiatives for AVN and the SKA.

MINISTERIAL MEETING

This map shows the core and remote locations for the SKA in Africa.

A formal, multilateral agreement or ‘memorandum of understanding’ will be signed in 2016, outlining each country’s undertakings.

Among the principles adopted for the AVN projects was provision by host countries for operational, maintenance and upgrade costs associated with the respective AVN observatories. The ministers committed to mobilising additional funds to set up the AVN observatories and undertook to make available the land and associated infrastructure, such as roads and power, needed for the AVN project.

AVN PROGRESS SKA Associate Director responsible for the AVN, Anita Loots, told delegates that the short-term focus is the conversion in Ghana of the Kutunse telecommunications system into a VLBI-capable radio telescope.

“We need to make sure the first project to establish a telescope in the African VLBI array works and works well. With this in mind, the first operational two-element interferometer with which to demonstrate fringes is likely to be SA-Ghana, using the Hartebeesthoek 26m VLBI telescope and the 32m Ghana telescope.

“The Ghana project has made good progress after the initial human capital development phase. There is a strong collaborative spirit between the South African and Ghanaian teams. Engineering tasks are shared and transfer of knowledge and technology is encouraged and realised on an ongoing basis.”

The Kutunse telescope project in Ghana has several key milestones over the next year and should be fully functional after major structural and mechanical modifications in 2016, with VLBI demonstrations soon thereafter.

Despite a focus on conversion projects, the AVN team remains highly committed to capacity building with partner countries.

The Zambia conversion project envisaged for Mwembeshi has made significant progress in recent months, with radio frequency interference measurements. conducted from June 2015.

NINE

There are nine SKA African partner countries: Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

Madagascar has three institutions that offer radio astronomy training.

WHAT IS AVN? AVN is a network of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) capable radio telescopes across the African continent.

It will strengthen the science that the international VLBI community can do.

It will develop the skills, regulations and institutional capacity needed in the SKA partner countries to optimise African participation in SKA Phase 2 and enable participation in SKA pathfinder technology development and science.

It will involve skills and knowledge transfer in African partner countries – to build, maintain and operate radio telescopes.

It will bring new science opportunities to Africa in a relatively short space of time and develop robust radio astronomy science communities.

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The Kenyan conversion project at Longonot is to be restarted after several non-engineering setbacks. A new joint implementation plan will be developed with the Kenyan teams to ensure alignment of the skills development programme and realisation of the Kenyan observatory.

Some partner countries are unlocking funds for specific initiatives. Mauritius has invested in a small interferometer, established a bursary programme open to all partner countries and invested significantly in building their research community. Through the Newton Fund, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Zambia will see key skills development programmes in collaboration with leading UK institutions over the next three years.

The meeting concluded with the hope that when South Africa hosts the African Union (AU) Summit in June 2015, leaders from all the partner countries will be able to report on the implementation of the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa.

All African countries will be encouraged to join a continental AVN initiative beyond the nine SKA partner countries.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING

As the ministers had committed to mobilising additional funds to set up the AVN observatories and making available the land and associated infrastructure needed for the AVN project, SKA South Africa project director, Dr Bernie Fanaroff, reported how the investment made by the South African government in science is beginning to attract international investment.

Germany’s prestigious Max Planck Society (MPG) has committed €11 million to build S-Band receivers, used primarily for pulsar research, and to fund ancillary equipment for the MeerKAT. Dr Fanaroff said, “This shows that the MPG has faith in the engineers and scientists of Africa.”

The Leverhulme-Royal Society Award, which is a UK/SA collaboration, committed £179 100 for the period 2014 to 2017. Launched in September 2014, there are currently 15 Ghanaian researchers involved. The project aims to train researchers in Ghana to monitor methanol masers to map the structure of the Milky Way. Some 60 researchers will be trained to use the Kutunse antenna for observing in a three-year programme.

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BIG DATA

requirements The European Union has committed to high performance computing (HPC) as a strategic resource. The AVN will explore the possibility of accessing funding to prepare for the required HPC needs of the AVN and SKA projects.

The Big Data programme will deploy high-performance computing facilities in SKA African partner countries.

Big data – the ability to process and analyse huge quantities of data in real time – is an important component of the SKA, so partner countries will need home-grown capabilities if they are to benefit from developments in this field.

According to Professor Happy Sithole of the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) in Cape Town, big data platforms will have to be developed in each of the nine partner countries. Professor Sithole said, “The CHPC is committed to training a cadre of African scientists and engineers proficient in HPC and equipped to use the AVN cyber-infrastructure being built. Industry too has expressed willingness to help expand preparations for the big data revolution into Africa. Next steps will identify potential host institutions in AVN partner countries where the data platforms will be installed, to tailor programmes and finally to deliver infrastructure.”

Zambia ·

·

·

Zambia has secured 25 hectares of land north of Kasempa for the project office and is acquiring the title deed.

Alternative, optional sites have also been identified.

A technical team from the SKA office visited Zambia to do a feasibility study to assess the suitability of the 29.6m dish at Mwembeshi for conversion to carry out VLBI research.

Zambia has earmarked the development of a strategy on space sciences intended to set the stage for a legal and institutional framework for the AVN project and support from some of the partner countries to obtain their experiences.

Mozambique ·

·

Mozambique has identified three sites for the AVN project.

One of the sites near Maputo will also host an ICT centre and an AVN Training telescope.

The other two sites are larger and more remote and will host antennas and stations.

Mozambique has secured the land for infrastructure development and identified experts at national level to coordinate the project, through the Eduardo Mondlane University.

MINISTERIAL MEETING

Individual country updates Ghana

·

· · ·

The Ghanaian team is working closely with their SKA counterparts on the conversion of the 32m telecommunication antenna at Kutunse. It is a high-intensity engineering programme to realise a telescope system for a maser monitoring programme and VLBI operations.

They expect to begin limited functionality in August or September 2015. Significant structural and mechanical repairs will continue from September 2015 to February 2016. Full functionality is expected towards March 2016.

A seven-member Ghanaian team has been trained in South Africa.

Three PhD students and one MSc student have received SKA South Africa bursaries. The Royal Society and Leeds University have jointly awarded funds to train 60 young scientists in astrophysics.

Mauritius · · · · · · ·

Madagascar ·

· ·

·

· ·

The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research said astrophysics is a relatively new field in Madagascar, but that they are working hard to build competency in radio astronomy. A degree course has been introduced at the University of Antananarivo in the engineering and physics of signals and systems, to build capability in signal treatment.

A speciality has been introduced in command, control, communication, computer and information systems.

Three institutions offer radio astronomy training.

In the context of the SKA project, 11 students are completing their Masters and PhDs on several aspects of radio astronomy at South African universities through the multi-institutional National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP). To date, 31 Madagascan students have studied for MSc or PhD degrees with SKA South Africa scholarships.

Four sites have been identified as potential host sites for SKA antennas. One site proposed for a new build is in the remote southern region and around the capital Antananarivo there is an existing, underutilised antenna.

These sites could be used for training.

Negotiations are under way with the telecommunications ministry on co-operation to use another possible conversion antenna.

A communication campaign has been introduced to tell the public and decision-makers about the SKA project.

· ·

Premises are being identified for the location of a data centre.

An instrument hosting arrangement is being set up for an ionospheric scintillator between the University of Mauritius and the South African National Space Agency.

Data on the ionosphere will be useful for imaging using AVN and SKA data.

The CALLISTO instrument for solar observations has been up and running for nearly five years.

A new solar instrument for producing solar data will be installed through a memorandum of understanding between the University of Mauritius and the University of Reunion.

A Joint Exchange Development Initiative workshop has been held to build research and collaboration capacity.

Funding has been secured for the Teaching Interferometer for Galactic Radio Emission (TIGRE) project.

Kenya

In the final stages of acquiring the land around Mount Longonot where the telecommunication dishes are currently located.

European Union is funding upgrade and purchase of equipment for astronomy training for the Technical University of Kenya.

Botswana · · ·

Landscape is ideal for radio telescopes. National Strategy for the Development of Space Science has been drafted and budgeting for a new build dish has started. Experts will assess the suitability of the land identified for the new dish.

Curriculum of University of Botswana science faculty under review.

China-Botswana cooperation has taken 20 experts to China on an exposure and training mission, mostly on satellite applications.

Namibia · ·

Good progress on technical infrastructure means focus can shift to Human Capital development (HCD) issues. An institution has been identified to host the HCD programme. In the interim South Africa, and possibly Mauritius, will assist with training.

Government has prioritised space science. National Commission on Research Science and Technology has established a Space Science Council to give strategic and policy advice.

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3rd generation

calibration The family of new calibration techniques known as third-generation calibration or 3GC.

By Professor Oleg Smirnov

A

radio interferometer does not directly observe an image of the sky like an optical telescope. Instead, it measures “visibilities” or Fourier components, which requires complicated maths to render into images. So calibration therefore becomes critical in relating numbers coming off the telescope to underlying physical quantities. Historically, our understanding of interferometric calibration has proceeded in three distinct phases.

1GC

The best description of the first phase can be borrowed from Jan Noordam of the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON). He calls it ‘first generation calibration’ or 1GC, simply comparing the signal of each baseline to the signal from a known source (the calibrator). This was only good enough for The dynamic range (DR) is the ratio a dynamic between the flux range (DR) of the brightest of around and faintest 100 to 1, features that can be but enabled accurately detected in an image. many of the pioneering discoveries of radio astronomy.

2GC

3GC

‘Second generation calibration’ or 2GC was ushered in during the 1980s by the invention of selfcal, which enabled the building of a model of the observed sky, simultaneously correcting for direction independent effects (DIEs) introduced by the antenna.

This was a revolution because it allowed DRs of up to 100,000 to 1, which was good enough to exploit the full capabilities of the telescopes of the time.

As instruments became increasingly sensitive, more subtle instrumental effects became a bottleneck for moving to a higher DR.

‘Third generation calibration’ or 3GC is the family of new calibration techniques for dealing with direction-dependent effects (DDE). These include variations in the primary beam or sensitivity pattern of each antenna (figure 2).

Dealing with such effects is critical in order to take full advantage of the capabilities of new telescopes such as the MeerKAT, LOFAR, ASKAP, the upgraded JVLA and the SKA. DDEs are varied and subtle so 3GC is a more like a big toolbox than a single technique, and nowadays many tools in this toolbox have a “Made in Africa” label. While the MeerKAT is being built, these tools are polished with data from the JVLA – a dish array with half the number of antennas, but more collecting area and massive bandwidth, giving roughly similar calibration challenges to those of MeerKAT. Figure 1 shows a new map of 3C147 using JVLA data from Rick Perley (NRAO), obtained at the Centre for Radio Astronomy Techniques & Technologies (RATT) at Rhodes University. This boasts a world-record DR of 5 million to 1 and is a showcase for the 3GC tools being developed in South Africa.

FIGURE 3 (a) Artefacts around sources caused by primary beam rotation are (b) reduced by applying a primary beam model and (c) completely eliminated via differential gains. With the old DG-only approach, the DG solutions must be done on short timescales (d) to track the full beam variation. With a primary beam model in place, we can achieve the same result with DG solutions on longer timescales (e) that ultimately results in higher-fidelity images.

(a)

(b)

(d)

(e) 14

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(c)

< FIGURE 4 A preliminary model for Cygnus A at 8GHz, using only a small subset of new JVLA observations, recovered by normal CLEAN (a) and the MORESANE (b) algorithm, which uses compressive sensing techniques to recover far more of the complicated structure and results in a more physical model then the “pixellated” approach that limits CLEAN.

CALIBRATION AND IMAGING

COMPLICATED EXTENDED SOURCES First null

FIGURE 2 The primary beam pattern of the JVLA. This is rendered in log scale to exaggerate faint detail. The sensitivity in the first sidelobe is <5% that of the main lobe.

FIGURE 1 The field around 3C147, at 5 million dynamic range using 21cm JVLA data. 3C147 itself is the bright dot in the middle. The overall sensitivity pattern imposed by the primary beam is clearly visible (main lobe, first null, sidelobes).

CHALLENGES The biggest challenge to high DR with dish arrays is the rotation of the primary beam pattern, corresponding to the rotation of the sky overhead, intrinsic to the alt-azimuthal mounts employed by the JVLA and the MeerKAT, which in turn causes time-variable DDEs. If not corrected for, these manifest as artefacts in the image (figure 3a).

One of the early 3GC approaches to dealing with this was the differential gains (DG) technique developed at ASTRON. It solved for a time-variable gain towards individual bright sources. These solutions would then track the rotating beam variations (figure 3d) and remove the artefacts (figure 3c).

This is the bluntest tool in the 3GC toolbox, but a new approach implemented

by Modhurita Mitra, Sphesihle Makhathini, Griffin Foster and others at RATT and SKA South Africa uses a model for the rotating primary beam that removes most of the artefacts (figure 3b) before resorting to DGs, while the remaining “garbage” can be taken care of by solving for DGs on longer timescales (figure 3e) to achieve a perfectly clean 5 million DR image.

Work by Trienko Grobler and Ridhima Nunhokee shows that an image with DG solutions on longer timescales is more “pure” in the sense that more accurate astrophysical parameters can be recovered.

COMPUTING EXPENSE Computing expense has been a concern with 3GC techniques. A comforting new benchmark is that the processing time for the 5 million image is now better than real-time: 10 hours of compute time for an image from 14 hours of telescope time, on a single high-end compute node.

New work by Cyril Tasse (formerly of RATT and SKA South Africa, now a collaborator at the Observatory of Paris Meudon), with RATT, promises to cut the calibration time by another order of magnitude. This bodes well for the MeerKAT, suggesting that such detailed 3GC processing for its data will be affordable even for individual scientists and small groups.

However, with computational costs taking a backseat, the “labour” costs of 3GC are becoming increasingly important.

After all, the 5 million image required a lot of human input and fine-tuning to produce.

Sphesihle Makhathini is working on turning these lessons into automated processing pipelines that can produce such results with minimal or no human intervention. In particular, at the early stages of calibration, before the major errors have been corrected for, it is vitally important to discriminate between artefacts (figure 3a) and real sources, lest the artefacts become “locked in” to the sky model. Sphesihle’s work with Lerato Sebokolodi (RATT) provides a reliable way to pinpoint and eliminate the artefacts.

A new effort led by Arun Aniyan (SKA South Africa/DOME/RATT) aims to apply machine learning (ML) techniques to such problems.

Complicated extended sources, of which Cygnus A is perhaps the most famous, present a very different challenge.

Raw radio images are corrupted by a complicated point spread function due to gaps between telescopes. Correcting for this is known as ‘deconvolution’.

For point-like sources such as those in the 3C147 field, deconvolution is easily handled by the venerable CLEAN algorithm (dating from 1974), but this breaks down on complex sources such as Cygnus A. One very promising development is a new family of deconvolution algorithms based on compressive sensing (CS) theory. Quite a few CS algorithms have been published and discussed, but the first one “to market” in the sense of being released as public and fully functional software able to process real data, is a joint African/French effort.

The original algorithm, called MORESANE, was developed by Arwa Dabbech from Tunisia, working at Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (OCA) in France, and implemented into a working tool called PyMORESANE, including GPU acceleration, by Jonathan Kenyon at RATT. This implementation was then readily incorporated into a software package called WSCLEAN by Andre Offringa (ASTRON), replacing the standard CLEAN loop and resulting in one of the fastest and most capable imagers to date.

Figure 4 shows a comparison of models for Cygnus A recovered by CLEAN and PyMORESANE from a small fraction of new JVLA observations of this source.

With more JVLA data of this source coming, more exciting images should be in the offing.

Such collaborations show that 3GC is more than a toolbox – it is a community and one in which South Africa is quickly becoming the hub.

EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS With 3GC becoming mainstream, there are more exciting developments to look forward to. In particular, Bayesian techniques will enable robust statistical inferences about the radio sky, as opposed to the historical “this image looks plausible so it must be true” approach. And a new collaboration called Bayesian Inference for Radio Observations (BIRO) between UCT, RATT, AIMS and UCL (UK) is investigating the use of Bayesian techniques. More about these in the future – watch this space. #2 2015

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D

SKApeople

Meet SKA’s Professor Justin Jonas PROFESSOR JUSTIN JONAS

Associate Director: Science and Engineering, SKA South Africa

In the mid-1960s, a seven-year old boy named Justin Jonas, who hailed from the East End of London came to South Africa with his parents. The family moved to Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape, where his father, a toolmaker, worked in one of the many automotive factories in the area. Money was tight and there were no luxuries in the Jonas family household.

From an early age Justin spent his weekends helping his dad make alterations to the house and disassembling and reassembling the engine of the family Mini Cooper. From these shared activities the young Justin developed a passion for problem-solving and understanding how things work.

He saw first-hand the virtues of patience, determination and workmanship of the highest quality.

In his teens Justin loved listening to music, like all his peers. But his parents could not afford to buy him a radio. So he built his own. He did such a good job that once completed, the device could pick up Lorenzo Marques Radio (LM Radio) all the way from Mozambique. Little did he know it at the time, but this would be the first of many radio receivers that he would build in his life.

Today, Professor Justin Jonas is Associate Director: Science and Engineering, SKA South Africa. His self-effacing and matter-of-fact demeanour belie his contribution to the success of South Africa’s bid to host the SKA. He might have been schooled in the small town of Uitenhage, but he benefited from the dedication of excellent maths and science teachers. They saw the potential of this reserved young boy and encouraged his ambition to become involved in radio astronomy, a relatively new field at the time.

While still at school, he had developed a fascination for the enormous Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire in the United Kingdom. One day he would come full-circle when the International SKA Organisation would be headquartered there.

One of his science teachers organised a visit to the Rhodes University Physics and Electronics Department and a lifelong passion was born when he saw the microwave radio receiver being built there.

Traveller through time 1958 Born, London, UK

1980 Bsc (Hons), Rhodes, with distinction

1965 Emigrated to SA 1979 BSC, Rhodes, with 10 distinctions

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1983 • MSc Rhodes: Physics, with distinction •SA Society for the Advancement of Science bronze medal

1999 PhD, Rhodes 1981-2001 Moves through the ranks at Department of Physics & Electronics at Rhodes, going from Principal Technical Officer to Senior

Technical Officer and then Chief Technical Officer, Research Officer, Senior Research Officer, Senior Lecturer 2001 Professor of Physics & Electronics, Rhodes

2002-2007 Head of Department, Physics & Electronics, Rhodes 2003-2006 •Managing Director, Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO)

SKA PEOPLE

“I really wanted to build stuff,” he smiles.

This understated comment fails to reveal that to build this kind of “stuff” he needs what Dr Bernie Fanaroff, Project Director of SKA South Africa, describes as a combination of “an outstanding understanding of physics and an equally outstanding understanding of electronics, telecommunications, computing and engineering principles.” In short, something of a genius.

But Professor Jonas is no ivory-tower intellectual.

He brings something special to lectures and discussions in which he participates. Former Rhodes University Vice-chancellor, Dr Saleem Badat, has said he possesses “the ability to excite people from all walks of life about science”.

Professor Jonas has not spent all his time between the four walls of a laboratory. During the course of his life, he has at various times taken up marathon running, hiking, mountain-biking and sailing, making many good friends along the way.

He has also been a mentor and inspiration to the scientists and engineers involved in the design and construction of the MeerKAT radio telescope.

The clutch of new radio astronomers who have come up through the ranks over the past decade or so, owe him a considerable debt of gratitude.

He says proudly, “We lacked suitably qualified people, but we’ve been able to offer bursaries and grants to young people in Africa. And the number of radio astronomers in South Africa has grown from only a handful to nearly 200 in just a few years.”

Tenacity, determination and a deep thirst for knowledge drove his work to map the radio emission of the entire southern sky – the Rhodes/HartRAO SKYMAP Survey, which formed the basis of his PhD, and is still used today by radio astronomers around the world.

The mild-mannered Professor Jonas has resolutely stayed out of the limelight on anything that is not science or engineering related. But even if he says little about his own central role, his pride in South Africa’s achievements in the field of radio astronomy shines through. His is truly a visionary mind, which sees beyond challenges and impossibilities to find ways of making big things happen.

• NRF (joint appointment with Rhodes) 2003-2008 • Project scientist, SKA South Africa • NRF & DST (joint appointment with Rhodes)

2009-present • Associate Director: Science & Engineering, SKA South Africa • NRF & DST (joint appointment with Rhodes)

Nkululeko Qwabe

Software Engineer, SKA South Africa

‘‘I was born in the small town of Mtubatuba in KwaZulu-Natal. I completed school at Ikusasalethu High School and had to take a gap year due to lack of funding for my tertiary studies. I later got a bursary to do my BSc in Computer Science and Information Systems at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

‘After completing my degree, I did two internships – one at the CSIR as a GIS software developer, and one as a systems administrator at the National Research Foundation based at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).

I also worked as a research assistant for one of the DUT senior researchers until I got the job at SKA South Africa in 2013 as a junior software engineer.

‘Working at SKA is my dream job – I’ve always wanted to work in astronomy. During my time here, I’ve completed various training courses and I’m now working as a software engineer. I’m also studying part-time towards my Honours degree in Computing through the University of South Africa and hoping to do my PhD one day.

‘My job responsibilities include designing, developing and implementing software for the African VLBI network, including developing interfaces between control systems and VLBI backend systems for telescope control and monitoring, and other station software systems.

‘As part of my development and skills training, I attended the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) Technical Operations Workshop at the Haystack Observatory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA in May. It was my first overseas trip and a great opportunity to learn from the best in the world.’

‘Working at SKA is my dream job – I’ve always wanted to work in astronomy.’

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MeerKAT UPDATE

MeerKATon track A year after the inauguration of the first MeerKAT antenna, the third and fourth antennas are now in place – right on schedule.

C

onstruction of the MeerKAT radio telescope at Carnarvon in the Northern Cape is progressing well, as the joint project between SKA South Africa and the Department of Science and Technology continues to take shape.

The schedule remains challenging even though many of the technical challenges associated with a project of this scale have been mitigated. It now moves into a phase where the installation rate of antennas will be increased.

Tests on the first two antennas have shown that the MeerKAT will perform significantly better than the baseline requirement.

This has been achieved by way of engineering optimisation, not cost increases.

Both the sensitivity and the frequency coverage of MeerKAT phase 1 have been increased, in line with the goal set by the project team – to establish MeerKAT as the most sensitive radio telescope in the world for the frequency bands in which it operates, until the international SKA project is commissioned.

The MeerKAT will commence doing early science in 2016 with 32 dishes and start its full science programme in 2017.

Five years of observing time on the MeerKAT has already been allocated to some of the leading radio astronomers in the world. At the completion of the science programme, the MeerKAT will be integrated into the rest of the SKA phase 1 dishes, with another 133 to be added. The result will be an instrument with unparallelled sensitivity, capable of investigating some of the fundamental questions of the universe.

MeerKAT technical specifications Number of antennas Configuration Diameter of main reflector (dish) Diameter of sub-reflector Surface accuracy (main and sub-reflector combined) Pointing accuracy Wind optimal (mean/gust) Wind operating (mean/gust) Wind stow (gust) Wind survival 3 sec gust 1 Azimuth speed/range Elevation speed/range Lowest elevation Continuum imaging dynamic range at 1.4GHz Line-to-line dynamic range at 1.4GHz Mosaicing imaging dynamic range at 14GHz Linear polarisation cross coupling across -3dB beam Sensitivity UHF-band (0.58GHz – 1.015GHz) Sensitivity L-band (0.9GHz – 1.67GHz) Sensitivity X-band (8GHz – 14.5GHz) Aperture phase efficiency Surface accuracy Pointing accuracy Pointing jitter Reflector noise contribution Reflector reflecting efficiency Azimuth Elevation Indexer

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64 Offset Gregorian 13.5m 3.8m 0.6mm RMS (root mean square) 5” under optimal conditions; 25” under normal conditions 10/15km/h 35 /48km/h 68.4km/h 44km/h 2 deg/s (-185 deg to +275 deg) 1 deg/s (15 deg to 88 deg) 15 deg 60dB 40dB 27 B -30dB 220m2/K required (expect to achieve better) 220m2/K required (300 m2/K achievable) 200m2/K required 0.91 (at 14.5GHz) 0.6mm RMS 5” (optimal conditions, 20 mins); 25” (normal conditions, 24h) <15” RMS <1K >99.5% (main and sub) 2 deg/s (-185 deg to +275 deg) 1 deg/s (15 deg to 88 deg) 4 receivers, 1 min switchover

Antennas numbers 3 and 4 are now in place.

OUTREACH Nkululeko Qwabe uses an interactive model of a telescope to explain principles of radio astronomy and telescope operations at SciFest.

SKAoutreach SKA South Africa @ SciFest Africa

SciFest Africa is South Africa’s national science festival. Based in Grahamstown, the event is the biggest of its kind in the country.

T

his year’s Scifest Africa what we do is to everyone out there. celebrated the Our efforts garnered numerous International Year compliments from delegates. light2015.org of Light. An array The organisers were very of topics were helpful in getting our baby explored during telescope up and running in the six days of time for demos to guests the festival in of honour and learners.

March, including Speaking to the British anatomy, architecture, arts and culture, High Commissioner to astronomy, atmospheric sciences, South Africa, Judith McGregor, aviation, biotechnology, chemistry, was nerve-wracking for me as energy, fibre optics, gravity, matter, I’ve never addressed anyone at microscopy, nanotechnology, optics, photonics, that level before! But I found many space sciences, the spectrum, the universe and more. of the conversations with students and Scores of scientists and engineers participate learners at our stand very beneficial – their unexpected annually, and more than 68,000 teachers and learners questions taught me I must always keep my knowledge spent time at this year’s event. A number of SKA of astronomy and engineering up to date. staff also attended – read their comments here.

It was satisfying to share what I know with aspiring The participation of SKA South Africa is young South Africans who want to become great not just about exhibiting the magnificent scientists and be a part of the SKA one day. telescope, but also to showcase the young people who work on the project.

CHANTEL MATHISON SCHOOLS COORDINATOR CARNARVON NKULULEKO QWABE ‘This was the first time I’d been SOFTWARE ENGINEER to SciFest and I had the time CAPE TOWN of my life. Actually, I had the ‘It was my first trip to Grahamstown science of my life! As soon as we and also my first time at SciFest. It was arrived you could feel the energy refreshing to attend such an event, even though and there were so many wonderful I was only there two short days. It rekindled the exhibitions. I couldn’t wait to enter the love I have for science and astronomy. planetarium, but it was worth the wait as it ‘It was inspiring to be in the presence of so many felt as if I was part of the displays. esteemed scientists from all over the world and the ‘I thought our stand was the best at the entire opening ceremony was a highlight for me – hearing exhibition, with its banners and TV displays all about NASA Chief Scientist Dr Ellen Stofan speak. the SKA. Our team was a group of wonderful people and ‘It was humbling to see how much respect there is I could see that science really matters to them. Their from people in the science community and how highly enthusiasm for what the SKA will do makes you want they regard the work we do here at SKA. After a while to eat, sleep and dream science. You could see that the one can start taking it for granted – how important

Official website of the International Year of Light & Light-based Technologies

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OUTREACH

“This was the first time I’d been to SciFest and I had the time of my life. Actually, I had the science of my life!”

– CHANTEL MATHISON, SCHOOLS COORDINATOR, CARNARVON

learners were absorbing all the information like sponges.

They asked relevant questions and we were able to hold their attention.

‘It was wonderful to sit in the SKA workshops, conducted by Sam Rametse and Thobela Baxana.

The presentations, demos and activities were interesting and the workshops were really useful and educational.

‘I can’t wait to attend next year’s event. Scifest 2016, here I come!’

SIYAMBONGA MATSHAWULE

TELESCOPE OPERATOR CAPE TOWN ‘I’ve been interested in SciFest ever since high school and I’ve always wanted to go, but never had the chance to attend. Being there as an exhibitor this year was a great opportunity to share the science we do at the SKA. ‘A highlight for me was interacting with learners from different backgrounds.

Engaging with them about astronomy and the environment was great and they could see the many different careers that are open to them after Grade 12.

‘While explaining dwarf planets to an 11-year-old girl, she called out, “Yho! iPlanet ehlala oohili!” (planet where tokoloshes live). I had to say to her that it was not the case.

‘Another highlight was a Grade 10 girl from Umtata High School who was happy and emotional at meeting a “real” astrophysicist. She’s always told people she wants to become an astrophysicist, but no-one has taken her seriously and her parents are worried she won’t get a job.

I chatted with her and she’s now more determined than ever to do astrophysics, which is really great.

‘I was one of the judges in the FameLab communications competition, where science, technology and engineering concepts have to be broken down into three-minute presentations. It was interesting to see the science people are doing – from water purification to curing cataracts.

‘My third highlight was working with my SKA colleagues – a group of people who are passionate about science outreach. This branch of the SKA project is pivotal in raising public awareness about astronomy and developments in the project.’

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ABOVE LEFT: Grade 11 learners from Spine Road High visited the SKA South Africa offices in Cape Town.

ABOVE CENTRE: Siyambonga ignites learners’ imagination through probing scientific questions.

ABOVE RIGHT: Nadeem shows maths and science applications using a plasma ball.

THERE’S MORE… Representatives of SKA South Africa also attended a number of other events.

1

2

3

Science-tuBE 2015 KIMBERLEY

SKA South Africa partnered with HartRAO at the third Science-tuBE in Kimberley (www.science-tube.co.za).

More than 1,853 learners from the Northern Cape attended.

SKA South Africa was awarded first prize for TopSpace and Technology Exhibition.

Eding! International Science Festival POLOKWANE

SKA participated in the Eding!

International Science Festival in Polokwane. Khutso Ngoasheng of the SKA Science Processing team delivered the opening speech at the event.

Sindisa Dunga Foundation Career Exhibition BUTTERWORTH

Apiwe Hotele and Siyambonga Matshawule attended the Sindisa Dunga Foundation Career Exhibition, where they gave a talk about astronomy, the SKA and career opportunities at the SKA.

SKA1 MID - the SKA’s midfrequency instrument The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the world’s largest radio telescope, revolutionising our understanding of the Universe. The SKA will be built in two phases - SKA1 and SKA2 - starting in 2018, with SKA1 representing a fraction of the full SKA. SKA1 will include two instruments - SKA1 MID and SKA1 LOW - observing the Universe at different frequencies.

SKA, investing in South Africa’s success.

Maximum distance between dishes: Frequency range: Location: South Africa

350 MHz to 14 GHz

~200 dishes

150km

(including 64 MeerKAT dishes)

Total collecting area:

33,000m2

or

126 tennis courts

Compared to the JVLA, the current best similar instrument in the world:

4x the

resolution

5x more

sensitive

60x

the survey speed

SKA1 LOW - the SKA’s lowfrequency instrument The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be the world’s largest radio telescope, revolutionising our understanding of the Universe. The SKA will be built in two phases - SKA1 and SKA2 - starting in 2018, with SKA1 representing a fraction of the full SKA. SKA1 will include two instruments - SKA1 MID and SKA1 LOW - observing the Universe at different frequencies.

SKA, investing in South Africa’s success.

Frequency range: Location: Australia

50 MHz to 350 MHz

~130,000

antennas spread between 500 stations

Total collecting area:

0.4km2

Maximum distance between stations:

>65km

Compared to LOFAR Netherlands, the current best similar instrument in the world

135x 25% 8x the survey better more resolution

sensitive

speed