With the exciting decision, as to whether the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the biggest Earth-based radio telescope in the world, will be hosted in Southern Africa or in Australia plus New Zealand, looming on the horizon, Rupert at the SKA South Africa office in Cape Town has put together this playful and funky timelapse video, starring the KAT-7 array against the night sky: KAT-7 Array Timelapse (click to play the video clip in YouTube).
KAT-7 is a seven-dish radio astronomy telescope that has been built, and is currently being commissioned, in the Northern Cape, outside the small town of Carnarvon. It is a prototype array for the far larger and more ambitious 64-dish MeerKAT, a mid-frequency ‘pathfinder’ or demonstrator radio telescope, which is to be built alongside the proposed SKA core site in the next few years.
Curious?
Have a browse through the latest newsletters of the SKA South Africa here: http://ska.ac.za/newsletter/index.php.
Or check out my other posts here: Blog posts.
We are living in exciting times!
Sunset at the KAT-7 site
Grains of Sand 
Interesting place, KAT-7, and interesting story. And great fun with these dancing telescopes!!!
I thought so too! We’re all holding thumbs that we get the right to host the SKA!
The sunset in your landscape is stunning. The dishes look tired from all their dancing in the video 😉
Thank you, Amy. 🙂 Wasn’t that video fun? Who knew that’s what the dishes did at night when no-one is watching! 😉
It sure was. I had no idea they did that sort of thing. Makes me wonder what the satellite dish on my roof does when I’m asleep.
LOL I was thinking the same thing about the satellite video! Funky music too! 😉
Thanks, Al – I think these guys are so creative! 🙂
Thank you for posting this, Reggie. I see you reached 200,000 hits and you didn’t even have a party! (Or did you have a party and I missed it?) In any case, big WA-HOOS and congratulations to a wonderful blogger. 🙂
Hi Kathy – well-spotted! Yes, I unfortunately missed the dramatic moment when my stats counter clocked 200,000, so I decided not to have a party. 😦 But THANK YOU for your congratulations!
Great video! Also love the sunset photograph.
Thanks you! I think it’s a very fun-and-funky video too! Who knew that’s what those huge dishes get up to in the dead of night!
Reggie, I don’t know if you have seen the Kat-7 article in the September issue of “Country Life” magazine? You’ll probably already know much more than is written there though, with your inside knowledge. 🙂
I got the magazine for another article, but paging through it, I’m imaging you becoming a contributor . . . 😉
Hello Lisa – no, I haven’t seen that article, as I don’t usually buy Country Life – I’ll have a look on the shelves of the local KwikSpar, though, so thank you for telling me about it. As to me becoming a contributor, hm… 🙂 I can imagine you and Willie submitting articles for it, actually!
Sent you an email.