Astronomy in South Africa

There is no denying that much advancement in astronomy and technology has been made in the past decade in southern Africa. There has been a boom in astronomy research and creation. In fact, after five years of construction one of South Africa's crowning achievements came into being with the development of the Southern African Large Telescope or SALT for short. The Southern African Large Telescope is still the largest and most efficient telescope in the southern hemisphere. It features a hexagonal mirror array that is 11 meters across. Though this crowning achievement was created and established in southern Africa, it was a worldwide collaboration that featured development and research from a variety of other countries including: Germany, The United States Of America, Poland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Southern Africa understands the need for collaboration when it comes to advancements in development and research of all types. They are very aware that more can be accomplished when like-minded individuals from all walks of life, gather together and work together to focus on a single project and goal. For example, take the Southern Africa Nordic Centre or SANORD for short for instance. This organization has worked together to link 8 major Universities of academics throughout southern Africa and the Nordic regions together, in order to see further advancements in development and research come together. It is groups like this that understand the need for collaboration and the gathering of academic minds in order to reach a specific goal.

This gathering of minds and "team work" philosophy is what led to the creation of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) that can now be used by researchers throughout the world in their astronomy research. Due to this sense of community and togetherness, southern Africa has quickly become a focal point when it comes to astronomy projects. The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is now being used to answer numerous questions in hundreds of research studies. Questions such as how old is the universe, and how does our galaxy to compare to other galaxies?

Other Advancements In Astronomy Research And Development

Namibia now houses the HESS or High Energy Stereoscopic System. This is a gamma ray observatory which is the largest of its kind. With projects like this coming into being and further development and research in astronomy coming about, the Southern Africa government has started to promote technology like never before, and are now encouraging people to make investments in these endeavors in order to make further advancements in astronomy in southern Africa. All throughout southern Africa and the surrounding regions, Scientists and researchers are making further advancements in astronomy. In fact, southern Africa is quickly becoming the center of astronomy technology and advancements and is receiving great attention from all over the world.

With the much advancement in development and research that southern Africa has already made over the past decade, it can only be assumed that they will continue to "wow" the world and will continue to be considered the most advanced place on the planet when it comes to astronomy development and research.