The SKA will be the largest radio telescope ever built and will produce science that changes our understanding of the universe. The SKA will be collocated in Australia and in Africa. In Africa the SKA will be built in South Africa and eight other African Countries. SKA South Africa (SKA SA) is responsible for the construction of the SKA in South Africa.
SARAO Public Open Day, 6 July 2022
Find out moreSouth Africa’s MeerKAT Radio Telescope is located on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Site outside Carnarvon in the Northern Cape, and is currently the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope.
Strange neutron star spinning every 76 seconds is discovered in stellar graveyard
Find out moreAn international team of scientists have discovered a strange radio emitting neutron star, which rotates extremely slowly, completing one rotation every 76 seconds.
Local impact study of HERA telescope shows direct benefits of radio astronomy infrastructure in South Africa’s Northern Cape province
Find out moreThe South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) has undertaken a local impact study of South Africa’s hosting of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA). The HERA telescope is an array of 350 antennas situated next to the MeerKAT radio telescope on the site that hosts the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in the Northern Cape province.
2022 Africa Data Science Intensive Programme projects find sustainable solutions to real world problems
Find out moreAn exciting project involving a plant disease classifier and detection tool was the winning presentation at the third Africa Data Science Intensive (DSI) Programme which took place from 9 to 13 May 2022 in Paarl.
Megamaser “Nkalakatha” discovered by astronomers using MeerKAT
Find out moreUsing the MeerKAT radio telescope, a team of researchers from the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, Rhodes University, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory and the South African Astronomical Observatory together with colleagues from 12 other countries have discovered a powerful megamaser – a radio-wavelength laser indicative of colliding galaxies. This is the most distant such megamaser found so far.
Closing the skills gap for young researchers through innovative entrepreneurship training
Find out moreYoung astronomy researchers have the opportunity to learn skills that will allow them to bridge the gap between academia and launching their careers in the workforce. Skilled, Innovative and Entrepreneurial Scientists (SKIES) is an ambitious project that offers training for astronomy researchers (PhD candidates and young postdoctoral researchers) in developing new skills, integrating Open Science, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Fast and furious: A shock wave that extends for 6.5 million light years
Find out moreAn international team of astronomers made the most detailed images of the largest cosmic shock wave visible from earth. These gigantic shock waves are much larger than our entire galaxy and they form when clusters of galaxies collide in what are the most energetic events after the Big Bang.
New MeerKAT radio image reveals complex heart of the Milky Way
Find out moreThe South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) has released today a new MeerKAT telescope image of the centre of our Galaxy, showing radio emission from the region with unprecedented clarity and depth. The international team behind the work is publishing the initial science highlights from this image in The Astrophysical Journal. The article is accompanied by a public release of the data to the worldwide astronomical community for their further scientific exploration.
Radio evidence of a minor merger in the Shapley Supercluster
Find out moreA group of radio astronomers led by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics has conducted a multi-frequency and multi-band study of the Shapley Supercluster, where the formation of large structures is ongoing at the present cosmological age. Radio astronomers have discovered a radio emission that acts as a “bridge” between a cluster of galaxies and a group of galaxies.
Einstein wins again
Find out moreThe theory of General Relativity passes a range of precise tests set by pair of extreme stars
MeerKAT discovers mystery clouds
Find out moreAn international team led by astronomers Professor Gyula Józsa, Professor Michelle Cluver, and Professor Thomas Jarrett has utilized the South African MeerKAT radio telescope to discover a mysterious chain of hydrogen gas clouds the size of a massive galaxy.
SARAO appoints MorClick as telecommunications service provider in the Karoo
Find out moreSARAO has appointed MorClick as a service provider for alternative telecommunications to communities living within the spiral arm of the MeerKAT radio telescope. The first phase of the rollout of the telecommunications services will be limited to farmsteads that have been identified in the Van Wyksvlei area. SARAO and MorClick will communicate the rollout of the telecommunications services to other areas in due course.
Large MeerKAT Data Release Reveals Beautiful New Cosmic Puzzles
Find out moreAn international team led by a young South African researcher has just announced a comprehensive overview paper for the MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey (MGCLS). The paper to be published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal presents some exciting, novel results, and is accompanied by the public release of a huge trove of curated data now available for astronomers worldwide to address a variety of challenging questions, such as those relating to the formation and evolution of galaxies throughout the universe.
2nd Life in the Universe conference takes place 22-24 November 2021
Find out moreThe second Life in the Universe conference will take place from 22-24 November 2021 online.
A recording of the proceedings of the first conference is available on YouTube at Life in the Universe Symposium 2020.
The conference is sponsored by the Breakthrough Initiatives, the Palaeontological Scientific Trust, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory and the South African Astronomical Observatory. This is a unique opportunity to gain an overview of the wide range of research which is aimed at understanding the origin and evolution of life in the universe.
Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems Conference Series (ADASS) XXXI to be held from 24-28 October 2021
Find out moreADASS is an annual conference striving to provide a forum for astronomers, computer scientists, software engineers, faculty members and students working in areas related to algorithms, software and systems for the acquisition, reduction, analysis, and dissemination of astronomical data.
SKAO signs hosting agreements with Australia and South Africa
Find out moreThe SKA Observatory has signed agreements with the governments of Australia and South Africa to host its telescopes and associated infrastructures. These documents formalise arrangements for the construction and operation of the SKA telescopes in the two host countries
Telescope built by Karoo locals releases data to astronomers around the world
Find out moreThe HERA telescope, an array of 350 antennas situated next to MeerKAT in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, is being built by a team of local artisans from the town of Carnarvon.
SKA Infrastructure Construction Opportunities Market Survey
Find out moreThe Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope is a multinational project to deliver the largest, and one of the most technologically advanced, radio astronomy facilities in the world. In 2012, South Africa, along with eight African Partner Countries, was awarded the right to host the mid-frequency component of the SKA – known as SKA_MID.
MeerKAT discovers large gas-rich galaxy group hiding in plain sight
Find out moreA group of 20 galaxies has been discovered with South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope.
Green light given for construction of world’s largest radio telescope arrays
Find out moreAt a historic meeting of its Council last week, the recently formed SKA Observatory (SKAO) saw its Member States approve the start of construction of the SKA telescopes in Australia and South Africa.
MeerKAT’s stunning image reveals cosmic threads, ribbons and rings
Find out moreA new study using the MeerKAT radio telescope has produced a striking image showing a combination of cosmic features never before seen, revealing unexpected details of the inner workings of enormous radio galaxies.
Site construction directors appointed by the SKA Observatory
Find out moreTwo respected science infrastructure experts have been appointed to lead construction activities at the telescope sites of the SKAO, respectively located in the Karoo in South Africa and in Western Australia.
Internships in Radio Astronomy Be Part of a World-Class Science & Engineering Endeavour
Find out moreApply for a SARAO Internship starting in 2022
SKAO appoints its telescope directors in Australia and South Africa
Find out moreThe SKA Observatory (SKAO) is pleased to announce the appointment of two widely respected figures in astronomical observatory operations as its telescope directors in Australia and South Africa. These positions are the most senior SKAO operations representatives in the telescope host countries.
Request for expressions of interest to participate in a BBBEE equity opportunity
Find out moreThe South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) hereby invites potential BBBEE partners to express interest in collaborating with SARAO in a BBBEE equity opportunity.
SKAO unveils new brand for a new era
Find out moreSKAO Global Headquarters, UK – The newly born SKA Observatory (SKAO) has
unveiled its brand following approval by the SKAO Council at its second meeting last week.South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope discovers 8 new millisecond pulsars
Find out moreUsing the sensitivity of one of the SKA precursor telescopes, a group of radio astronomers led by INAF explored the central regions of some globular clusters in search of very weak pulsars
Ultra-sensitive radio images reveal thousands of star-forming galaxies in early Universe
Find out moreAn international team of astronomers has published the most sensitive images of the Universe ever taken at low radio frequencies, using the International Low Frequency Array (LOFAR).
Africa Data Science Intensive Programme trains next generation of researchers and industry leaders
Find out moreThe 2020 Africa Data Science Intensive (DSI) Programme was hosted by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) in collaboration with AIMS South Africa, Grailabs and the University of Portsmouth as part of the UK-South Africa Newton Fund Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) Big Data programme, between September 2020 and January 2021.
SKAO is born – Launch of international Observatory signals new era for radio astronomy
Find out moreSKAO Global Headquarters, Jodrell Bank, UK, Thursday, 4 February 2021 – The SKA Observatory, a new intergovernmental organisation dedicated to radio astronomy, was launched today following the first meeting of the Observatory’s Council.
Gigantic galaxies discovered with the MeerKAT telescope
Find out moreTwo giant radio galaxies have been discovered with South Africa’s powerful MeerKAT telescope. These galaxies are amongst the largest single objects in the Universe and are thought to be quite rare.
Founding members sign SKA Observatory Treaty
Find out moreSouth Africa joins countries in signing treaty on the establishment of the SKAO as an intergovernmental legal entity
SARAO and the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft welcome the Italian Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica as partner on the MeerKAT extension project
Find out moreThe National Research Foundation, through its national facility the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), and the Max Planck Gesellschaft (MPG) welcome the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) as an additional partner on the MeerKAT extension project (MeerKAT+).
MeerKAT telescope call for observing proposals
Find out moreThe South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) announces an opportunity to apply for observing time on the MeerKAT telescope.
A minimum of 1,000 hours of telescope time will be awarded through this call, with all approved projects to be scheduled by no later than the end of 2021. The call for proposals is open for imaging projects only.
South Africa ratifies SKA Observatory Convention
Find out morePretoria, South Africa, 1 June 2020 – South Africa, the future home of the SKA’s mid-frequency telescope, has ratified the Convention Establishing the SKA Observatory after the South African Parliament approved the Convention and Dr Naledi Pandor, Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, signed the Instrument of Ratification.
South Africa’s MeerKAT solves mystery of ‘X-galaxies’
Find out moreA team of astronomers from South Africa and the US have used the MeerKAT telescope to solve a longstanding puzzle in ‘X’-shaped radio galaxies.
Astronomers stumble upon unexpected features in a distant galaxy using MeerKAT data
Find out moreAn international team of astronomers has uncovered unusual features in the radio galaxy ESO 137-006 using MeerKAT data.
National Ventilator Project
Find out moreThe Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has mandated the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) to manage the national effort required for the local design, development, production and procurement of respiratory ventilators to support the government’s response to combat the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
South African Radio Astronomical Observatory (SARAO) Stakeholder Communiqué regarding COVID-19
Find out moreSouth Africa is currently under a COVID-19 lockdown for a period of 21 days until midnight on 16 April 2020. The lockdown involves significant restrictions of movement.
Postponement of MEERKAT Site Open Day, 25 MARCH 2020
Find out moreAfter careful consideration, the management of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) has decided to postpone the forthcoming MeerKAT Open Day scheduled for 25 March 2020 until further notice.
Astronomers are riding the heatwave: tracing the energy from an accretion burst
Find out moreFor the first time ever astronomers have detected the radiation stimulated by a “heat wave” of intense thermal energy from a massive new-born star, or so-called protostar.
South Africa’s MeerKAT peers deep into the Universe
Find out moreFirst radio image of distant Milky Way-like galaxies reveals star formation history of the Universe
MeerKAT and SALT combine to solve mystery stellar event
Find out moreScientists using the MeerKAT radio telescope and the Southern African Large Telescope have combined forces for the first time to discover and identify a unique and previously-unseen flare of radio emission from a binary star in our Galaxy.
SARAO upskilling Africa’s bright young minds in big data
Find out moreThe 2019 Big Data Africa School was hosted by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), from 6 to 16 October 2019, at the Lagoon Beach Hotel in Cape Town.
South Africa’s HIRAX telescope driving industry engagements
Find out moreThe Hydrogen and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX), led out of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), has deployed two new prototype telescope dish designs, one aluminium and the other fibreglass, at the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) Hartebeesthoek in Gauteng.
South Africa’s MeerKAT discovers giant radio bubbles at centre of Milky Way
Find out moreAn international team of astronomers using the MeerKAT telescope has discovered enormous balloon-like structures that tower hundreds of light-years above and below the centre of our galaxy.
South Africa’s MeerKAT discovers missing gas in distant galaxy
Find out moreHydrogen gas (represented by green blobs) detected with SARAO’s MeerKAT radio telescope within and around the galaxy NGC 1316, visible at the centre of the image. The two hydrogen tails newly discovered with MeerKAT are visible in the upper and lower parts of the image (the curved arcs are added to guide the eye). Additional hydrogen clouds near NGC 1316 are also visible. The visible light image in the background is from the Fornax Deep Survey – a Dutch-Italian collaboration led by the University of Groningen and INAF – Naples – and was obtained with the VST telescope at the European Southern Observatory. (Adapted from results presented in Serra et al. 2019.)
South African-led Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV) Consortium completes planning work for SKA
Find out moreThe international engineering consortium tasked with planning the Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV) of the SKA Radio Telescope has formally completed its work, another crucial step towards the construction of the world’s largest radio telescope.
SKA Consortium completes design of Science Data Processor
Find out moreInternational consortium of computing specialists complete the engineering design work of the Science Data Processor for the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope.
Vibrant young South African community poised to use MeerKAT telescope
Find out moreSouth African Radio Astronomy Observatory announces selection of 38 South African-led projects that will use the MeerKAT radio telescope.
NRF/SARAO Congratulates Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Consortium on First Image of Black Hole.
Find out moreThe South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) congratulates the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Consortium on capturing the first image of the gargantuan black hole at the heart of the distant galaxy Messier 87.
Another milestone towards the construction of the SKA Radio Telescope in South Africa
Find out moreThe Department of Science and Technology (DST) has welcomed the adoption of the Integrated Environmental Management Plan (IEMP) for phase one of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in South Africa.
On Friday, 22 March 2019 the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Ms Nomvula Mokonyane, gazetted the adoption of the Integrated Environmental Management Plan (IEMP) for the Square Kilometre Array Phase 1 Mid-Frequency Array (SKA1_MID) in South Africa.
Founding members sign SKA Observatory Treaty
Find out moreSouth Africa joins countries in signing treaty on the establishment of the SKAO as an intergovernmental legal entity

SARAO Public Open Day, 6 July 2022
South Africa’s MeerKAT Radio Telescope is located on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Site outside Carnarvon in the Northern Cape, and is currently the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope.

Strange neutron star spinning every 76 seconds is discovered in stellar graveyard
An international team of scientists have discovered a strange radio emitting neutron star, which rotates extremely slowly, completing one rotation every 76 seconds.

Local impact study of HERA telescope shows direct benefits of radio astronomy infrastructure in South Africa’s Northern Cape province
The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) has undertaken a local impact study of South Africa’s hosting of the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA). The HERA telescope is an array of 350 antennas situated next to the MeerKAT radio telescope on the site that hosts the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in the Northern Cape province.

2022 Africa Data Science Intensive Programme projects find sustainable solutions to real world problems
An exciting project involving a plant disease classifier and detection tool was the winning presentation at the third Africa Data Science Intensive (DSI) Programme which took place from 9 to 13 May 2022 in Paarl.

Megamaser “Nkalakatha” discovered by astronomers using MeerKAT
Using the MeerKAT radio telescope, a team of researchers from the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, Rhodes University, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory and the South African Astronomical Observatory together with colleagues from 12 other countries have discovered a powerful megamaser – a radio-wavelength laser indicative of colliding galaxies. This is the most distant such megamaser found so far.
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SARAO is leading South Africa’s involvement in the SKA on behalf of the Department of Science & Innovation.
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The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) is a National Facility managed by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and incorporates all national radio astronomy telescopes and programmes. Find out more
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Latest news
26 January 2022
New MeerKAT radio image reveals complex heart of the Milky Way
17 January 2022
Radio evidence of a minor merger in the Shapley Supercluster
Contact us
Email: enquiries@ska.ac.za
Cape Town
Tel: +27 (0)21 506 7300
2 Fir Street, Black River Park, Observatory (North Gate entrance), Cape Town, South Africa 7925
Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO)
Tel: +27 (12) 301-3100
Farm 502 JQ, Hartebeesthoek, Broederstroom Road, Hartebeesthoek, 1740