Sarah Wild tackles complex and scientific subject with aplomb, writing with impressive eloquence and wit. (Review by Keith Millar)One of my favourite activities when visiting the Drakensberg is gazing up at a star-filled sky on a clear night. It is a truly awe inspiring. Millions upon millions of celestial bodies lighting up the night sky. It is a scene of wonder and exquisite beauty. At times like this one cannot help but to reflect on the purpose of it all. How did it happen? Are there other beings out there? But then there would be the braai fire to worry about so that would be about as far as my interest would go.
Until now, that is. Having just read Sarah Wild’s book Searching African Skies, I have found a new curiosity and fascination for all things extra-terrestrial. Sarah tackles a complex and very scientific subject with aplomb. She writes with impressive eloquence and wit and as a result has produced a book which is interesting, educational and infinitely readable.
Searching African Skies is the history of South African radio astronomy, and of its quest to host the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope (SKA). All celestial bodies emit radio waves at different frequencies. This is said to be the song of the stars. By collecting and collating this data, scientists are able to map the universe.
The book tells the story of the first radio telescope built at Hartebeeshoek in Gauteng by NASA in the 1960’s.
Then on to Sutherland in the Cape which is the home of the South African Large Telescope (SALT) installation.
The farm of Losberg in rural Northern Cape near the Carnarvon was chosen for the KAT-7 and 64 dish MeerKat telescope installations and will also be the heart of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope.
The Square Kilometre Array - or SKA – will be the world’s biggest telescope, and one of the largest scientific projects ever. With the use of SKA, radio astronomers will be able to look far back in time and may find answers to the many mysteries of the universe.
SKA will be made up of thousands of antennas spread over 3,000 kilometres. They will be linked together by optic fibre cables and will work as one gigantic instrument. The total surface area of the antenna will be approximately a square kilometre.
What do they hope to find in space? Will they be able to see as far back as the big bang? Are we alone in the universe? Can a developing country like South Africa with all its social problems justify the expense of building this massive telescope? Searching African Skies offers answers to these questions, and explains why we all should be enthusiastic about what is ultimately arcane scientific instrument.
Sarah Wild is the Science and Technology Editor for Business Day. She has produced a book which is readable, understandable and interesting to the layman despite the scientific and technical nature of the subject matter. Searching African Skies is her first book and a very good one, at that. I look forward to her next offering.
Searching African Skies is published by Jacana Media – ISBN 978-1-4314-0472-8 and retails at R226. - Keith Millar
Posts
