Earlier this month, when I was in South Africa, laying the groundwork for my new business in access control and loss control (Goldfinger Global, LLC), I took time to visit the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory. Originally a NASA satellite tracking station, the 30-meter dish at Hartebeesthoek was turned over to South Africa after NASA started covering the southern sky with other assets. South Africa converted the dish to a radio telescope and the facility to a radio astronomy observatory.
Allen G. Taylor, Image credit: Fikiswa Majola
I had a great visit to the observatory, escorted by Ms. Fikiswa Majola.
Fikiswa Majola, Image credit: Allen G. Taylor
NASA contracts with the facility to do laser ranging on overpassing satellites. Mr. Samuel Tshefu was running the laser ranging facility when I visited and showed me every aspect of it.
Samuel Tshefu, Image credit: Allen G. Taylor
I had a lengthy coversation with Dr. Michael Bietenholz, a Canadian radio astronomer who wisely spends Northern Hemisphere winters doing radio astronomy in South Africa. In his spare time, Mike likes to transform images of the radio sky into works of art. The image below is a stunningly high resolution depiction of the Crab Nebula at radio wavelengths. Mike describes it thusly:
“In the sky is a radio image of the Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova explosion recorded by Chinese astronomers in 1054 AD. The core of the original star has collapsed to an incredibly dense neutron star, which spins rapidly and emits an energetic wind of particles and magnetic field, which energizes the filamentary nebula visible in the radio. The radio image most clearly shows the beautiful filamentary structure of the nebula.”
Crab Nebula, Image credit: Michael Bietenholz
While at the observatory, another visitor appeared. The bontebok is the rarest antelope species in the world. We regarded each other from a safe distance. I didn’t want to get too close to those wicked horns.
Bontebok, Image credit: Allen G. Taylor
I returned home to Oregon and spotted a much more common species of ungulate in my back yard.
Deer, Image credit: Allen G. Taylor
