Science and Technology minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane will on Friday launch an astronomy telescope at the University of the North West (NWU), a first for a previously disadvantaged university, her department said.
The telescope is co-funded by the Department of Science and Technology and is an effort to develop astronomy and related sciences at universities historically disadvantaged due to South Africa’s apartheid past.
Housed at the Mahikeng Astronomical Observatory, it will be operated remotely to allow learners and educators to access it from anywhere in the country. The telescope will be used for bright start research, allowing astronomers at the Mahikeng campus to study the interiors of stars, and their evolution. It will also be used for outreach purposes in communities across the country.
The university’s programme is led by Professor Thebe Medupe, who started astronomy at the university’s physics department in 2010, attracting students and postdoctoral fellows to NWU.
”The physics department has four astronomers with PhDs, one student completing his PhD and two space scientists, as well as many other physicists,”, said Nhlabathi. “Several top astronomers have also been to the campus to do research, demonstrating that the programme has potential for further growth.”
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
