Sky & Telescope - March 2025 - 84

SKAO / SOUTH AFRICAN RADIO ASTRONOMY OBSERVATORY
FOCAL POINT by Govert Schilling
It's Time for Africa
Africa hosted the International Astronomical Union's General
Assembly for the first time in August 2024.
IF SOMEONE WERE to ask you which
parts of the world are the major players
in professional astronomy, chances are
that North America, Europe, and eastern
Asia (specifically, Japan and China)
would spring to mind first.
Well, that has to change, according
to Kevin Govender (South African
Astronomical Observatory). Govender
chaired the National Organizing Committee
of the 32nd General Assembly of
the International Astronomical Union
(IAU), which was held in Cape Town,
South Africa, in August 2024. " This has
been a great opportunity to showcase
to the world what we're capable of, " he
says. " It's time for Africa. "
It was the first time in the IAU's 105year
history that the triannual General
Assembly was held on the African continent.
During the opening and closing
ceremonies at the Cape Town International
Convention Centre, more than
2,000 astronomers from 105 countries
across the globe were treated to traditional
Zulu warrior dances and performances
by the iThemba Youth Choir.
But most importantly, the numerous
scientific symposia often highlighted
important African contributions.
Astronomy is not new to what was
once pejoratively known as " the Dark
Continent. " The Royal Observatory at
the Cape of Good Hope, established in
1820, was the first modern scientific
institution in Africa; it evolved into
the current South African Astronomical
Observatory. Since the start of the
21st century, several projects have called
Africa home. Namibia hosts the HESS
gamma-ray observatory. In 2005, the 9.2meter
(effective aperture) Southern African
Large Telescope, the largest optical
instrument in the Southern Hemisphere,
received first light. And last July saw the
construction of the first 15-meter dish of
SKA-Mid, the mid-frequency part of the
Square Kilometre Array radio observatory,
which will incorporate the existing
64-dish MeerKAT facility.
But for most of its history, African
astronomy projects were initiated, operated,
and funded by foreign organizations,
usually former colonizing countries.
This has only started to change
over the past decades, says South African
astronomer and former trade unionist
Bernie Fanaroff. For instance, local
artisans are largely responsible for the
construction of MeerKAT and SKA-Mid,
while government money has been
invested to attract the best teachers to
the high school in the nearby village of
Carnarvon, where they train young people
in science and technology. Fanaroff
hopes and expects that other African
countries will follow this example.
With the abolishment of apartheid
in 1994, South Africa became a fledgling
democracy. Back then, the government
issued a white paper on the desired
approach to science and technology.
" Astronomy has been an essential part
of that growth, " says Govender. " In a
sense, the ambitions of 30 years ago
have led up to the IAU General Assembly
being held here. This conference is
the culmination and the celebration of
three decades of investment. "
Govender, who is also the director
of the IAU's Office of Astronomy for
Development, strongly believes that
astronomy is the gateway to foster
broader interest in STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics)
among young children and high-school
students. That's why he made sure that
each and every session of the IAU meeting
was (and still is) freely accessible
online, and why so many school visits
were organized alongside the conference.
To the astronomers, space scientists,
and instrument builders who flocked
into Cape Town in August, Africa has
certainly been put on the map as a
major player in the field. The IAU's
next General Assemblies, in 2027 and
2030, will be held in Rome (Italy) and
Santiago (Chile), respectively. But as
Takalani Nemaungani, the chief director
for astronomy at the Department of
Science and Innovation in South Africa,
says, " I want to believe this is not the
last time this event is coming to Africa,
and it will surely no longer take another
hundred years. "
The 64-dish MeerKAT radio telescope in the Northern Cape region of South Africa forms
an integral part of the Square Kilometre Array, which is being built on two continents.
84 MARCH 2025 * SKY & TELESCOPE
¢ Contributing Editor GOVERT SCHILLING
attended the IAU's 32nd General
Assembly in Cape Town with the support
from the VWN Trip Fund.
Sky & Telescope - March 2025

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