South Africa Wins Science Panel's Backing To Host SKA Telescope

ananyo writes "A scientific panel has narrowly recommended South Africa over Australia as the best site for the proposed Square Kilometre Array (SKA), an enormous US$2.1-billion radio telescope. While the project's member states have yet to make a final decision on where the telescope will go, the odds are now that the African bid will ultimately win out against the joint bid from Australia and New Zealand to host the project. The SKA radio telescope will be made up of some a 3,000 dishes, each 15 metres in diameter. The project will try to answer big questions about the early Universe: how the first elements heavier than helium formed, for example, and how the first galaxies coalesced. The telescope is so sensitive that it could even pick up television signals from distant worlds — something that might aid in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence."

Project security

[Anonymous Coward]

Is the project's security taken into consideration? South Africa isn't the most stable of countries, and its neighbours to the north are highly unstable.

Re:Project security

[Anonymous Coward]

The bleeding hearts of Europe want to patronise the Africans once again with a perceived leg up rather than guarantee the long term stability and viability of the project. Why isn't the LHC based in South Africa?

I disagree, but I'm not sure how to explain

[FairAndHateful]

I will admit that I don't know the cultures of both places very well, but between the two...

Wouldn't you go with Australia based on population density alone? This is a radio telescope, something you want in someplace remote. You pick a square kilometer out in the middle of the outback, there's going to be like NO local interference. South Africa has approximately 40 times the population density, and they seem to be spread around the country a little more evenly than Australia.

Re:What Sa has over Au ?

[AHuxley]

Re South Africa is seen as a better place to do science?
The long Bush Wars provided a great generational base for science and very hi tech.
South Africa with some help created aerodynamic casings for its nuclear weapons, that puts in a rather unique list.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jindalee_Operational_Radar_Network [wikipedia.org] Australia's tech efforts at the same time :)

Re:Project security

[0111 1110]

The southern hemisphere is better for radio astronomy and SETI. It has more interesting targets, including the most interesting nearby stars and the galactic center. Also, there are more radio telescopes in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere already, including Arecibo and the new 500 meter FAST dish being constructed in Southern China.