Deputy Minister of Science and Technology ADV Michael Masutha Visits the Southern African Large Telescope in Sutherland
The Deputy Minister visited the Sutherland area today to meet with community members and also visited the Southern African Large Telescope(SALT).
SALT is the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere and among the largest in the world. It has a hexagonal primary mirror array 11 metres across, comprising 91 individual 1.2m hexagonal mirrors. Although very similar to the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) in Texas, SALT has a redesigned optical system resulting in a larger field of view and effective collecting area.
SALT can detect the light from faint or distant objects in the Universe, a billion times too faint to be seen with the unaided eye - as faint as a candle flame would appear at the distance of the moon. The telescope and instruments are designed to operate from the near ultraviolet to the near infrared (320 to 1700 nm), and offer some unique or rare capabilities on a telescope of this size.
The Deputy Minister also toured the Sutherland community development centre, where internet is provided through the Wireless mesh network developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Meraka institute. This centre benefits about 600 learners in Sutherland.
During his interaction with the community Adv Masutha urged parents encourage their children to work hard in mathematics and science, “so they can get a decent jobs and participate in the economy.”
