The largest diameter telescope in the Southern Hemisphere that will be dedicated on Nov. 10 in South Africa has a North Carolina connection.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a partner in the project, and several UNC officials will be on hand for the Nov. 10 ceremony.
The telescope is located in Sutherland, a small town in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. It went into service on Sept. 1 after a five-year construction program.
According to UNC, the Southern Africa Large Telescope, or SALT, is powerful enough to see a single candle flame as far away as the moon.
UNC also works with telescopes based in Chile.
“Our partnerships with SALT in South Africa, as well as with other major telescopes in Chile, give UNC faculty, graduate students and undergraduates better access to the skies over the Southern Hemisphere than any other academic institution in the United States,” said Bruce Carney, senior associate dean for the sciences and Samuel Baron professor of astronomy at UNC.
UNC: www.unc.edu
