|
South Africa's competitive advantage
Southern Africa is fast becoming a hub of activities in the field of astronomy and related technologies. Winning the SKA bid will be a major step forward for the government's Astronomy Geographical Advantage Programme (AGAP). Other major astronomy players in the region include the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) in the Karoo, and the HESS gamma ray telescope in Namibia.
South Africa's Astronomy Geographic Advantage Act (2007) declares the entire Northern Cape Province, with the exception of the Sol Plaatje Municipality (Kimberley) as an astronomy advantage area. Within that an area of 12.5 million hectares is the main protected area - or radio astronomy reserve - for the SKA. This area is also referred to as the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Area.
Other benefits of the proposed SKA South Africa site include:
- Low levels of radio frequency interference and certainty of future radio quiet zone
- Very little light pollution
- Basic infrastructure of roads, electricity and communication in place
- Ideal geographical location, sky coverage and topography
- Safe and stable area with very few people and no conflicting economic activities
- Required land, labour and services available and very affordable
- Excellent academic infrastructure to support SKA science and technology
- The astronomical "richness" of the southern skies & strong tradition of astronomy
Hosting the SKA in South Africa will boost the development of high level skills and cutting edge technology infrastructure in Africa, and will also attract expertise and collaborative projects to the continent.
|
