The African radio astronomy community achieved a significant milestone when it successfully deployed the first TART (Transient Array Radio Telescope) in Mauritius.
It took place at the Université des Mascareignes (UdM), Bel Air campus, under the supervision of Rhodes University’s Professor Oleg Smirnov, UdM’s Dr Keshav Sewraj, Dr Max Scheel of the Electronics Research Foundation (New Zealand) and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory’s (SARAO) Dr Nadeem Oozeer.
The Power of Collaboration
This breakthrough highlights the significance collaborative efforts of various institutions and funding bodies committed to expanding scientific research and training opportunities across the continent. Developed by Dr Tim Molteno’s group at the University of Otago in New Zealand, TART is an affordable and innovative telescope design. The technology was introduced at Rhodes University in 2022, involving three universities – Otago, Rhodes and Stellenbosch. The launch in Mauritius is part of a larger project spearheaded by SARAO and supported by the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) programme, aimed to establish TART telescopes in various African partner countries.
The installation was accompanied by a workshop at Université des Mascareignes (which also provides bursaries to African students), during April 2024, by Dr Sewraj from the local organising committee. The workshop marked the first implementation of the new spiral antenna concept and the first TART telescope installation in an African partner nation.
Dubai floods and those in other parts of the United Arab Emirates in April nearly scuppered the event. Despite these and logistical challenges, the team managed to pull it off and successfully made the telescope operational, achieving calibrated imaging by the end of the workshop. According to Professor Smirnov: “The team did an amazing job working around flooding and the telescope was fully operational and making calibrated images on the last day of the workshop – they did an epic job.”
Fostering Interest in Radio Astronomy
The workshop also entailed public talks to foster interest and deepening the understanding of radio astronomy. Prominent members of the team, including Drs Molteno, Scheel, Oozeer and Prof Smirnov delivered covered various aspects of the TART initiative. Topics included:
- TART project overview
- technical aspects of the TART telescope
- radio astronomy imaging and
- working with TART data.
University students, advanced high-school students and members of the Mauritian research and education community formed part of the audience.
The new array layout, featuring antennas positioned on spiral arms, was designed for on-site fabrication, as well as to optimise imaging performance. The success of this installation is testament to careful co-ordination, planning and collaboration among international and local experts.
Creating Training Opportunities
The TART initiative has great potential to grow and promises new research and training opportunities to African nations. It is hoped that this will further establish the continent as a significant player in the field of radio astronomy. The programme’s ongoing success will undoubtedly inspire future generations of scientists and also help create a pipeline of a new breed of researchers across Africa.
For more background reading on the programme, you can visit: Low-cost radio telescope brings new research and training opportunities for Africa.
