Pretoria. A few days ago the MeerKAT radio telescope – an integral part of the multinational project Square Kilometer Array (SKA)- was inaugurated in the South African Karoo desert. The Italian Ambassador Pietro Giovanni Donnici took part in the inauguration with Prof. Nichi D’Amico, President of the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), and the Scientific Director of INAF Filippo ZerbiAt. The inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of the Vice President of the Republic of South Africa, David Mabuza, Minister of Science and Technology, Mmamoloko Khubayi-Ngubane, and the Minister of National Education Naledi Pandor. In addition to Italy and South Africa, the other members of the project are China, United Kingdom, Canada, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, and Spain which became part of SKA last June. MeerKAT, consisting of 64 antennas, measuring almost 20 meters high, is the largest radio telescope in the Southern Hemisphere and, together with SKA, will not only allow a qualitative leap in the field of astronomical research, but is already having effects on the development of sectors such as electronics, telecommunications, and information technology. (9Colonne)
