The Largest Southern Hemisphere Telescope Still Ailing
Department:
Astrotech
Teaser:
"As South Africa angles for a massive telescope project, its own SALT telescope has been offline for a year"
Source:
Scientific American Download time: May 3 2010 10:34 AM ET
SUTHERLAND, South Africa—High on an arid plateau, an international group of visiting astronomers stands squinting into a simmering orange sunset. Giddy just to be here, they scramble atop a cluster of ancient volcanic boulders to peer over the edge of a vast camouflage green overlook. They have been attending an international conference in Cape Town on communicating astronomy with the public and are only too excited to finally be on the grounds of Africa's premier astronomical observatory.
"Here" is a grueling four-hour drive from Cape Town, where the nearly five-year-old Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) should be preparing for a night's observing. Instead, it stands silent. Its giant 10- by 11-meter, segmented mirror remains fixed; its control room's computer screens empty of celestial targets. SALT has been in repair mode since April 2009, and it probably will not be able to continue its ambitious scientific mission until June at the earliest. Although SALT's technical team of South African astronomers and optical engineers says that the telescope's international partners have been patient during the long delay, everyone is clearly anxious to restore the telescope to full health.…
See Scientific American for links to further info.
