Science stars issue 3 final print

ISSUE 3

GALILEO GALILEI The Father of Astronomy

WOMEN NURTURING SCIENCE

CONTENTS CONTENTS

FEATURES

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FOREWORD Director of SAAO: Kevin Govender

GALELIO The father of Astronomy

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dst Celebrating a strong partnership

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FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Leading the science sector

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space junk Its a mess up there

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0 uct astronomy A learning centre 2 astronomy The bodies 4 cartoon Sci-buddies 2 ska At the heart of development 8 Sutherland The town of stars

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Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

FOREWORD

the

FOREWORD W

ould you consider yourself a dreamer? Someone who loses themselves in thoughts of endless possibilities?

Thoughts of the improbable, the sometimes impossible?

Do you stretch your mind beyond the realms of our daily reality and reach towards places of fantasy or perhaps towards the seemingly unreachable scales and beauty of deep space? You may be a dreamer... or you may be an astronomer in the making!

It is my pleasure to contribute to this special edition of Science Stars which focuses on Astronomy. This is a field that has never ceased to inspire young and old from all over the world and all throughout the history of humankind. It’s a field where the scientists driving it, also known as astronomers, are sometimes thought of as full time dreamers. Astronomy is a field that stimulates us to stretch our imagination into places and ideas we could never have ventured to on our own. However, it does so with a solid foundation of mathematics and science. The amazing things that we think about - the speed of light, the size of the sun, the distance between stars, the formation of basic elements as we know them - all these wanderings of our minds are grounded firmly in mathematical and physical models. This makes an astronomer a kind of “informed dreamer” or, as we may choose to call them, “thinkers”.

South Africa is full of dreamers. We are a nation that has been inspired by our leaders to move from a rough history towards an amazing future. We are a nation that would not have come as far as we have without “informed dreamers”. Amongst the dreamers living in every corner of this great country we have those who will build their future dreams upon the unbreakable foundation of mathematics and science. These informed dreamers will take inspiration from subjects like astronomy and be motivated by the challenge of contributing to our understanding of the universe.

They will equip themselves with skills to be able to tackle any problem they are faced with, and as such they will find opportunities to contribute to all areas of society, even beyond scientific careers. These skills that they will equip themselves with come in the form of a mathematics and science education.

As South Africa continues to invest in some of the most ambitious astronomy projects in the world (like the Southern African Large Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array) along with many associated science, engineering and technical activities, the stage has been set for a generation of inspired young people to grab the opportunities afforded to them on this continent,

and contribute to some of the biggest challenges facing humanity’s understanding of the universe. The field of astronomy is our gateway into a world of thought, a world of dreams, a world of inspired problem solving. The skills that we develop through astronomy that helps us solve not only the problems of our universe, but our problems on earth, will be our gateway into a better world for us and for our children. So challenge yourself and fine tune your skills. Think big. Think freely. Stretch your imagination. Above all, never stop dreaming!

Kevin Govender Director IAU

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

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ED’S NOTE

LETTER FROM

THE EDITOR THE BEAUTY OF ASTRONOMY

team Science Stars

Managing Editor • Evans Manyonga editorial@sciencestars.co.za

Art Director • Nkabanhle Mawala info@roswikamedia.co.za

We bring you yet another edition of Science Stars. This will be our final edition for 2013. We have enjoyed the long year and yes, even scientists (and science writers and designers) need to take a break. Even though am sure they never stop thinking, even when they are resting! It has been a wonderful scientific journey and 2013 has taught me so much about the many science disciplines we covered. I met and talked to so many influential and knowledgeable people in science.

All this would not have been possible without the strength and dedication of the Science Stars Magazine production team. Who have had to work tirelessly for us to give you this important magazine that is your friend in science!

We also appreciate the support from the dedicated Department of Science and Technology (DST). Without them it would be very difficult to bring you this beloved magazine. We salute them and thank them for their support!

Graphic Designer • Cinzia Joey Swartz

Contributing Writer • Unathi Kondile Chairman • Madambi Rambuda Sales Executive • Siseko Siwali siseko@sciencestars.co.za

Ambassador • Azwindinni Muronga

Copyright 2013 Roswika Media. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or any means, electronically or mechanically, without prior permission.

Science Stars is published by Roswika Media - a member of Shanduka Black Umbrellas.

This edition is dedicated to Astronomy. Read on and discover more about the interesting things happening in Astronomy in South Africa. Find out more about the SKA programme, the SALT Telescope, Astronomy bodies, Galileo and the latest activity from DST. A personal favourite of mine is the Sutherland story. Simply because the Science Stars team really enjoyed the trip to this small town. Not only was it so informative but it was also really exciting. I hope you enjoy this edition because we really enjoyed putting it together. We wish you a healthy end to the year and a fresh start in 2014. Always remember a set goal is the master of motivation. Nothing is impossible!

Evans Nyasha Manyonga Managing Editor

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31 Brickfield Road, Upper East Side, Unit 9B Cape Town 021 447 7197 info@sciencestars.com www.sciencestars.co.za

FEATURE

The father

of Astronomy Written in the stars

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

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NEWTON GALILEO

H

ave you ever wondered how we managed to know what is out there in the sky? How we know stars are stars and planets are planets? Or even more how we even got brave enough to travel to the moon without thinking we could hit the sky and bounce back to Earth? Well it is all thanks to the man known as Galileo. Through his hard work in science and Astronomy we were able to know what lies out there. Before Galileo people had so many different ideas of space and astronomical bodies, but he managed to change most of those ideas through his inventions and observations.

A true warrior of science and the father of Astronomy.

Galileo Galilei was born on 15 February

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1564 and died on 8 January 1642. More commonly known as Galileo, he was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a serious role in the Scientific Revolution.

Although he was very talented in various areas in science we are more impressed by his work in Astronomy.

Some of his contributions include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism. He is considered as the “father of modern observational astronomy”. He has also been called the “father of modern physics”, the “father of science” and “the Father of Modern Science”. More importantly his work even influenced our

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

modern day technology.

Galileo discovered the four largest satellites of the planet Jupiter which are named the Galilean moons as a way of honoring him. He is also highly respected for his observation and analysis of sunspots, while he also invented a military compass and many other interesting and important instruments.

Astronomy

Galileo invented the strongest telescope during his time. This telescope had 3x magnification and gradually he improved it to having a 30x magnification. Through using a Galilean telescope people could see magnified, straight and clear images

NEWTON GALILEO

back on earth. His telescopes were the only ones that could be used to observe the sky for a long time. He also invented what is commonly known as the spyglass telescope. Which could enable people to see objects that were very far.

Galileo’s invention was not only useful to people for observing the sky but also in their day to day lives. His telescopes were used by sailors and sea merchants because they would enable them to look far off in the distance and they also used them to trade with other merchants and ordinary people. Galileo published his first telescopic astronomical observations in March 1610 in a diary known as Sidereus Nuncius which means Starry Messenger.

Kepler’s Supernova

Through his observations using his inventions Galileo was able to conclude that the Kepler supernova was just a distant star in 1604. Before this most knowledge of the sky and space was from the Aristotelian age and people believed that objects in the sky could not change or evolve. Galileo felt that stars also had a lifetime and he was right.

However because he was introducing new knowledge many people fought against his beliefs.

Jupiter

On 7 January 1610, Galileo observed with his telescope what he described at the time as “three fixed stars which were totally invisible when looking up without

a telescope because of their small size.

They were close to planet Jupiter and were lying on a straight line through it.

Galileo kept looking at the stars and realised that their positions kept changing. He then realised that they were actually not stars at all because of their movement! On 10 January he realised that one of the objects had disappeared and he noted that it had disappeared because it was behind the planet Jupiter. After some time he concluded that these objects were actually orbiting (going round) Jupiter.

On 13 January he discovered the 4th object. Thereafter he realised they were moons. In other words just as we look up at the moon other planets also have their moons which can be more than one like in the case of Jupiter. Some planets also

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

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GALILEO

don’t have moons atEarth have one moon.

Astronomers later named these moons (Galilean satellites) in honour of their discoverer Galileo. They are now named Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

These observations changed the way human beings looked at space and the beliefs they had held before because it essentially confirmed that a planet with smaller planets orbiting it did not go along with the old belief that all the bodies in the sky only circle the Earth. A lot of Astronomers and Philosophers at the time were upset and felt that it was not possible simply because it changed what they believed about Astronomical bodies.

However his observations were confirmed by the observatory of Christopher Clavius and he received a hero’s welcome when he visited Rome in 1611. And today we know Galileo was spot on with his observations.

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Sunspots

Galileo was one of the first humans to observe sunspots. These are dark spots on the surface of the sun that are cooler than other areas. He later had a dispute with a gentleman called Christoph Scheiner who felt that he had observed sunspots first. But according to official documents David Fabricius and his son Johannes had noticed these spots first. However Galileo publicised them and persued what they were.

Moon

Before Galileo’s construction of his version of a telescope, Thomas Harriot, an English mathematician and explorer, had already used what he called a “perspective tube” to observe the moon.

However his observations were not as detailed as what Galileo put forward.

Through Galileo’s observations humans discovered that the moon was not a perfect circle and also that it had a solid

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

surface that was not transparent.

Milky Way and stars

Galileo observed the Milky Way, previously believed to be nebulous, and realised that they were a lot of stars that were so close together they looked like clouds when looking at them from Earth.

He also located many stars that the naked eye could not have seen at the time. He also observed the double star Mizar in Ursa Major in 1617. He also discovered that stars were round.

Galileo was definitely the most influential person in Astronomy because he made so many discoveries when people believed the limited information that had been there for a long time. In other words he changed the field of Astronomy. He made so many discoveries we didn’t mention here because we would have to write a book to capture them all! He was the father of Astronomy and a true Science Star!

DST

THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY (DST) Celebrating a successful Science and Technology partnership

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he Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Michael Masutha, addressed an event at the University of Cape Town on the 21st of November 2013.

The event was held to showcase projects funded through a science and technology (S&T) partnership between South Africa and the European Union (EU).

The Deputy Minister was joined by the EU Ambassador to South Africa, Roeland van

der Geer, and UCT Vice-Chancellor, Dr Max Price. Researchers including Professors Tim Noakes, Bruce Hewitson, Valerie Mizrahi, Linda-Gail Bekker and Associate Professor Arnaud Malan also presented their groundbreaking and exciting work in health and climate change.

The event also included a tour of the Emavundleni Clinic in Crossroads which is run by the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre

(DTHC), housed in UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine.

The DTHC has partnered with the district health services to provide a series of services including TB/HIV integration at community level, mobile services for HIV, TB and STI screening, among others.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has taken full advantage of the S&T Agreement signed between South Africa

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DST GALILEO

and the EU in 2006, participating in a lot of EU programmes such as the Framework Programme 7 (FP7) and the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP). As a result, South Africa has emerged as one of the most successful participants from outside Europe in FP7, attracting a direct investment of more than R500 million and over R350 million of EDCTP funding.

There was also an exciting question and answer segment with Professor Valerie Mizrahi which concentrated on issues surrounding TB and the new work coming out of the research. Professor Bruce Hewitson from CLIMAFRICA also fielded questions on climate change predictions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mostly dealing with how these changes are impacting the region and how we can adapt strongly.

The tour of the Emavundleni Clinic was also very successful and the city of Cape Town and the Department of Science and Technology came together to support these projects. The Deputy Minister of DST, Michael Masutha closed the highly eventful and successful programme.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Michael Masutha

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Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

GOVENDER FEATURE DST

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Leading the science sector

If we want South Africa to be a first world country we should do more to encourage the kids to study science so that we can have enough experts in the science fields Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

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ACTUARIAL SCIENCE GOVENDER

Kevin Govender is the Director of the Office of Astronomy Development (OAD). He has been involved in using astronomy for development during his previous position as the Manager of the SALT Collateral Benefits Programme at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). He also chaired the Developing Astronomy Globally Cornerstone Project of the International Year of Astronomy (IYA2009) and was involved in the development of the IAU Strategic Plan.

Childhood

Govender grew up in a rural part of KwaZuluNatal at a small farm. His father was a motor mechanic and his mother was a schoolteacher. “That’s what got me curious about science especially seeing my father fixing cars and different things around the house. I went to a farm school until I was eleven, thereafter we moved to another small town and I completed my schooling there.

During that period I really got interested in science. At the time I didn’t know what career options were available to me in science so after my high school I went to The University of Natal and thats where I discovered more about science and the careers that were available.”

Growing up Govender always looked at his parents as his role models. His father was

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always fixing things around the house and his mother always encouraged him to study and pass well. “There were teachers in our family and my cousin was a technician and also a really cool guy, who was always making things happen, so he encouraged me to take interest in scientific things.”

Education

After studying for his Honours degree in Science his parents decided that he was going to work instead of studying towards a Masters and PHD degree. He moved to Pretoria and the new sarroundings motivated Govender to try out new ideas. “ Looking outside seeing the Union Buildings really inspired me, I could feel I was in the Capital City. I told myself that if I had an idea I could simply walk into the government buildings and pitch my idea. I even went to the inauguration of Thabo Mbeki and I really felt like I could contribute something to the country,” he says. Govender realised that his heart was not only in research but also in helping people and creating a better future. “Through studying my degree and Honours I had acquired a lot of strong knowledge so I decided to use that knowledge to help the community.”

Astronomy

Govender has been in the field of Astronomy for a long time. And he believes more can be done

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

for the young people to gain more interest in science and also Astronomy. “I don’t think we are doing enough because our education system has not delivered what it can deliver.

If we want South Africa to be a first world country we should do more, encourage the kids to study science so that we can have enough experts in the science fields, because we are really short of experts.”

He also admits that a lot of people are working hard to make science and especially Astronomy work in South Africa. “There are science centres in communities that are trying to help kids gain interest in Science fields and Astronomy. There are so many amazing people doing amazing things and a lot of young people are getting inspired. The only problem is that the people dedicated to promoting science are much smaller than the bigger group that is coming out of schools.

These students coming out of schools don’t have a good foundation in science and so that group is affected by the lack of science literacy,” he explains.

Maths and science are very important in the way we live our everyday lives. The everyday decisions we make are affected by science according to Govender. “The importance of Maths and Science subjects are that they

GOVENDER

The importance of Maths and Science subjects are that they equip you with the ability to make decisions equip you with the ability to make decisions.

And everyday we are faced with decisions from joining gangs to drugs and if our young people do not have this education our challenges as a country will become worse and grow. We are running the risk of not having children who can think out of the box because they wont have basic problem solving skills which they can acquire from Science subjects,” he says.

Govender feels that without the excellent teachers and passionate science centres who can push individuals to work and come through the science system many leaners wont be able to achieve their dreams.

SCIFEST

The OAD is part of the advisory committee of Scifest, which is the biggest science festival in Africa now. “We advise on a more strategic level, raising funds and finding ways to spread Scifest to other African countries so we can make it more international. We are also interested in learning what young people think of the event, what they learn from it and also the challenges they are faced with so we can make better recommendations.”

Astronomy for teachers

The main outreach activity OAD does is teacher development. Govender feels that teachers have their own backgrounds and should be encouraged to develop the young learners. However he admits that like everything else there are challenges.

“The system itself is not perfect and flawless. The system doesn’t always align with this strategy because at times we have workshops for teachers but they also can’t just leave their responsibilities at school during working hours to attend workshops.

So it has to happen after hours and we have

to motivate teachers to come in their own time for this development maybe during weekends,” he says.

How we can improve Astronomy

Astronomy has been identified as one of the geographically aligned science areas by the Department of Science and Technology. The government has also been investing highly in the science discipline. The SALT telescope in Sutherland is a good example of how government has been investing in Astronomy. “We should find more ways of inspiring people to get involved in Astronomy. This includes making sure research finds its way in the mainstream media. So we need to contact journalists and make sure they always get to know what is happening in Astronomy, and be notified about all the new research and information coming out. This will help inspire the public on what we are doing and achieving.

“Astronomy is pushing our understanding of the universe and we are doing this in South Africa so people should get to know about this. We need the system to change so we have an education system that does not only focus on exams but also teaches young people to think rationally,” he says.

Govender believes kids should be taught how to collect and analyse data as this will prepare them for the future.

To the young Science Stars readers Govender says they are in a country were Astronomy is a global focal point because there are so many things in favour of South Africa in terms of Astronomy.

“There are so many research opportunities, jobs and its a field young people can get involved in and because of the attention from the world, students can travel to other countries collaborating with people and its an exciting time for Astronomy in South Africa. Astronomy requires technicians, researchers, engineers and a lot of other broad fields.”

He advises students to pursue the area there are most interested in and passionate about as it will be more exciting and they will remain motivated.

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NEED MOTNO EYUDY T S R E T F A DO YOU

?

L O O SCH

Let us help

y...

reams a realit

ur career d you make yo

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) provides loans and bursaries to eligible students for studies at public universities and Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges in South Africa.

NSFAS OFFERS BURSARIES: Bursaries are offered to eligible students in need who are studying in various scarce skills areas such as teaching and social work. Eligible students are those whose academic results enable them to enter university.

As of 2011, the South African government has also increased bursary funds to help students enrolled in certain NATED programmes (N1-N6 in engineering and N4-N6 in all other fields) as well as the National Certificate (Vocational) at public FET Colleges. If you qualify for funding according to a financial means test, this bursary could cover the costs of your tuition, food and accommodation.

STUDENT LOANS GIVE HOPE: NSFAS loans are also available for qualifying university students for their first undergraduate degree or diploma. If you do well academically, a portion of the loan may also be converted into a bursary. Funding is limited and not all students who apply will receive an award.

FOR MORE INFORMATION visit the financial aid office on campus, contact NSFAS on 021 763 3232 or SMS your question to 32261 Standard SMS rates apply.

Email info@nsfas.org.za or visit

www.nsfas.org.za

NSFAS is a registered credit provider in terms of the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCRCP 2655)

DST UCT

THE DEPARTMENT OF

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (DST) Breaking boundaries

T

he Department of Science and Technology (DST) hosted the first African-American woman to travel into space, Dr Mae Jemison, from 27 to 29 November. Dr Jameson was here to discuss a number of initiatives on space science and technology.

The former National Administration and Space Administration (NASA) Astronaut became the first African-American woman to travel into space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on 12 September 1992. She resigned from NASA in 1993 to form a company researching the applications of space technology in daily life.

In recognition of her accomplishments, Dr Jemison received several awards and honorary doctorates. In further recognition of her pioneering achievements, she appeared as Lieutenant Palmer in Star Trek: the Next Generation, soon after leaving NASA after seven years as an active-duty astronaut.

While in South Africa, she visited a number of science and technology initiatives of the DST, including attending the Technology Top 100 Business Awards in Midrand on 28 November. Most importantly, she held meetings with senior officials in the National System of Innovation to discuss possible

areas of cooperation. These included “The Earth We Share� initiative, which focuses primarily on science literacy and problem solving for learners and teachers by improving the understanding of everyday science and technology matters.

Dr Jemison also visited the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) in Hartesbeesthoek to discuss issues such as remote sensing for crop management, intensified building of cube satellites for technology demonstrations, human capital development, and refurbishing of old space infrastructure and instruments to build technical skills.

Discussions also centred on extending the 100 Year Starship (100YSS) initiative to South Africa to enhance partnerships in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related initiatives. The 100YSS is a joint US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and NASA grant project to a private entity in order to work toward achieving interstellar travel within the next 100 years.

Dr Jemison also gave talks and lectures on her various experiences, including her life as a technology entrepreneur. Other exciting possibilities that came about as a result of her visit included sharing internationally benchmarked content for science centres, especially computer-based science experiments to compensate for lack of laboratories.

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CTSC FEATURE

SPACe JUNK W

It’s a mess up there!

hat would you say if we told you that there is money to be made in collecting rubbish from space? Picture a municipality truck going up to space to collect rubbish. It’s possible. Before 1957 going to space was just an impossible dream, but it happened. So what stops us from going to clean up space with our “space trucks” of the future?

Question is, how would we gather all the junk in space? Better yet, is there actually something called junk in space?

Yes. It was a Wednesday afternoon, in the midst of the World Space Week 2013 (from the 4th to the 10th of October), when we visited the Cape Town Science Centre for Dr Peter Martinez’s talk, titled “Space debris - a growing threat to outer space activities”.

Now Dr Martinez is what we call a heavyweight scientist in the world of Astronomy - he is the Chairman of the South African Council for Space Affairs and is also the head of the Space Science and Technology Division at South African Astronomical Observatory.

According to Dr Martinez, there is a whole lot of junk up in space! It’s dirty up there! Planet earth is surrounded by a dense cloud of space junk that is made up of inactive satellites, spent upper stages of rockets, mission-related debris and other man-made objects. In other words human beings are a big source of space pollution.

The United States of America, via its Space Surveillance Network, tracked about 22 000 objects

DST 18

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

FEATURE

in space: 1000 working satellites and 21 000 space debris pieces bigger than 10cm.

Anything below 10cm cannot be tracked in space. So it is estimated that there are over 500 000 objects that are between 1 - 10cm and possibly hundreds of millions of objects that are less than 1cm in size; all floating around space.

It is these untracked objects that are less than 10cm that pose the greatest threat.

At the speeds at which spacecrafts travel in space these seemingly small objects can completely destroy a spacecraft and endanger astronauts or future space travellers.

“If an object is not tracked there is no way you can avoid a collision! Something the size of a marble can cause serious damage to a spacecraft. South Africa can play a bigger role in tracking these space debris objects, by having space observing centres. Right now, South Africa is a part of the orbit that is not very well observed!” added Dr Martinez.

Another niggling concern crossed our minds as we sat listening: So, as some of this junk or debris floats around space there’s a high chance that some of this debris might actually re-enter the earth’s atmosphere.

What happens then?

Imagine walking down the street and kaplonk a piece of space debris lands on you. What are the chances of that? Minimal. Normally space debris that re-enters the atmosphere

Sources of debris or space junk: -

Defunct spacecraft Mission debris Rocket bodies Fragmentation debris (explosions and degradation) Collisions Deliberate debris creation – when satellites are blown up in space

So how do we actually go about removing this space debris? The answer lies in Active Debris Removal (ADR): - Laser ablation (irradiating it with a laser beam) - Magnetic coupling (using outer and an inner drives) - Sweeping surfaces - Foam / Aerogel - Thrust - Capture vehicle (that truck of ours would be a good idea!)

- Tethers - Tentacles - Basket / Net - Sail - Or? What would you suggest? Send us your ideas on how to clean space debris – email: info@sciencestars.co.za

MORE INFO *For those interested in seeing space debris, you can visit the Cape Town Science Centre - it is located at 370B Main Road in Observatory. You can call them on 021 300 3200 or visit www. ctsc.org.za.

usually burns up before it hits the planet.

But, there have been reported cases of reentry. And to bring it closer to home, on the 27th of April 2000 a USA Delta II 2nd stage re-entered over South Africa. Its propellant tank landed 37 kilometres North East of Cape Town. Imagine what would have happened had the recovered pressurization sphere and rocket nozzle landed slap bang in the middle of a township or city?

ionizing radiation, which are dangerous to human beings. It can damage our cells.

Another example of re-entry was in Canada, in 1978, where the Soviet military Cosmos 954 crashed into Northwest Canada – its radioactive debris scattered 800km of Canada.

The Cape Town Science Centre also displays some space debris objects – three pieces from the remains of the Delta II spacecraft we mentioned earlier. The centre’s director, Julie Cleverdon, told us briefly how there have been some concerns from members of the public about radioactive danger. “If it was radioactive the Americans would have long taken it away from our centre!” she laughed. Dr Martinez also assured us that the space debris exhibition at the centre was not radioactive at all.

That’s another concern when space debris re-enters; is it radioactive? If you’ve covered this subject at school already you’ll know that radioactivity is a nuclear decay process in which a nucleus of an unstable atom loses energy by emitting particles of

So as Dr Martinez showed us a piece of space debris from a Russian satellite, we were at first hesitant to touch it. “Don’t worry it is not radioactive! But it is extremely rare to touch and feel something from space!” he assured us, as we took this small piece of charcoal-coloured metal from him.

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UCT ASTRONOMY UCT

UCT Astronomy

Department A learning centre

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Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

UCT UCT ASTRONOMY

The Department of Astronomy at the University of Cape Town is the largest university-based astronomy group in the country and has strong ties (and joint positions) with the South African Astronomical Observatory and the South African Square Kilometre Array office. The department primarily comprises observational (optical, near-infrared and radio) astronomers, with international leaders in the fields of large-scale structure of galaxies, dark matter in galaxies, low surface brightness galaxies, the uncovering of galaxies hidden by the Milky Way, the extra-galactic distance scale, and cataclysmic variable stars. The department is also closely associated with a number of other groups within various UCT departments, such as the cosmology group of the applied mathematics department, the astro-particle group of the physics department, and members of the electrical engineering department who are involved in space science and radio telescope technology development.

The undergraduate major (previously called specialisation) in Astrophysics at UCT has been offered from 2006 onwards. In 2013, we will introduce a second 2nd-year course (AST2003H: Astronomical Techniques). This course combines a large practical component (radio and optical astronomy practicals) with theoretical background in astronomical techniques, instrumentation and data analysis. From 2013 onwards AST2002S will become AST2002H, which means that both second year courses will spread out of the entire academic year.

The undergraduate major in Astrophysics provides an excellent qualification for postgraduate studies in Astrophysics and related disciplines. For more information about the postgraduate studies in Astrophysics at UCT we refer to the additional information on our web site.

Astronomy and Astrophysics undergraduate

courses offered by the Department of Astronomy AST1000F Introduction to Astronomy AST2002S Introduction to Modern Astrophysics (in 2012) AST2002H Astrophysics (from 2013) AST2003H Astronomical Techniques (new from 2013) AST3002F Stellar Astrophysics AST3003S Galactic and Extragalactic Astrophysics The application procedure The following recommendations are for the benefit of applicants.

When to apply Applications should be submitted as early as possible in the applications cycle, which commences in April of each year.

Application Fees An application fee is payable with every application, except in the case of most graduates of UCT. Please refer to Fee structure for further information.

Submitting results and documents Current learners at school should ensure that all examination results from Grade 11 until September of grade 12 are submitted. Failure to submit these results may result in delays.

Transferring students should ensure that all transcripts and academic records are submitted as early as possible, and that a final transcript of current studies being undertaken reaches the Admissions Office as soon as possible after receipt.

Monitor your application You are encouraged to monitor the status of your application. You can do this online.

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ASTRONOMY SCIENCE CENTRE

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ASTRONOMY BODIES

Planets

Perhaps everyone’s favourite because we actually live on a planet. Before 2006 we used to believe we had 9 planets in the solar system but after reclassifying how our planets operate we realised we officially have 8 planets in our solar system. Simply put planets are other worlds like Earth; unfortunately all the stars within our solar system do not have the necessary conditions to support life like earth does.

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Stars

Asteroids and Comets

Remember that bright fast moving fire you noticed in the night sky? Well it was probably one of these.

Asteroids and comets are the leftovers from the formation of our vast Solar System. The empty spaces of our solar system have a lot of small objects that don’t really serve any purpose. These are what are known as asteroids and comets. Let’s say these are the leftovers from that house you know of that was built to make it simpler. They are mostly chunks of rock or ice. When they enter the earths atmosphere when going down we usually see them with a glowing tail and sometimes they orbit the sun.

The second most interesting bodies are stars.

We see them every day in the sky wherever we may be. Did you know that the sun is actually a star? Yes unbelievable, but true. Do you know that the sun is big enough to hold 1 million earths? So stars all have different sizes and some are much smaller than earth.

The further away from us they are the smaller they seem just like the sun. In fact the sun is not even considered as the biggest star as it is just average in size. There are 7 different classes of stars and Astronomers identify them by their colour. The hottest stars are blue and the coolest stars are red in colour.

Moon

So we all love the moon. Whether we are sitting by the fire or walking past street lights it is the only alien world we can see with our naked eye. Even better is the fact that mankind has visited the moon and walked on its surface. A moon is defined as an object that orbits a planet and is more or less the planet's natural satellite. Every other planet in our solar system has its own moon except Mercury and Venus. Uranus has a whopping 21 moons, Jupiter has 16 moons, Saturn has 18, Neptune has 8 and Pluto has 1. What’s more interesting is that moons have different sizes. Pluto’s moon is so big it looks like a planet! Amazing as it is just average in size. There are 7 different classes of stars and Astronomers identify them by their colour. The hottest stars are blue and the coolest stars are red in colour.

What’s more interesting is that moons have different sizes. Pluto’s moon is so big it looks like a planet! Amazing as it is just average in size.

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ASTRONOMY

7 Galaxy

Galaxies are large groupings of stars, dust, and gas held together by gravity.

They have different sizes and shapes.

Most of the objects in space are all contained within galaxies. They contain stars, planets, moons, comets, asteroids, nebulae, dust, neutron stars, and black holes. Our own beloved mother Earth is within our galaxy or rather mother Earth is inside a galaxy.

9 Quasars

Quasars are the brightest and most distant objects in the known universe.

They are not located within our own galaxy and have also left our very best Astronomers even puzzled. They are star like objects but not stars.

Our Astronomers are still trying to learn more about these amazing and mysterious heavenly bodies.

6 Nebulae

Probably the most beautiful things to look at, a nebulae is a cosmic cloud of gas and dust floating in space. Nebulae are described as the basic building blocks of our universe. The elements contained within them are necessary for the birth of stars and solar systems.

These elements usually are about 90% hydrogen, 10% helium, and 0.1% heavy elements such as carbon, nitrogen, magnesium, potassium, calcium, iron.

The stars inside these clouds of gas make them glow with beautiful colours from blue, to red and even green.

Giving them a place among the most beautiful objects in the universe.

Amazing!

8 Pulsars

In 1967, at the Cambridge Observatory, Jocelyn Bell and Anthony Hewish were studying the stars when they stumbled on something positively astonishing.

It was a star-like object but it emitted quick pulses of radio waves. And this was the first of its kind. Pulsars are formed when big stars collapse after hundreds of millions of years and lose their fuel supply. These stars blast out in the most violent explosion in the universe known as a supernova. Pulsars are created after the event.

10 Black Holes

These amazing bodies challenge the reality of life as we know it. They are formed after stars die. They can be best described as regions of space where so much mass is concentrated that even light cannot resist their gravitational pull. It is sucked in which makes it difficult to really understand how they operate. Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity made it easier for Astronomers to understand black holes.

Whatever you do never go near a black hole because it will suck you in!

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CARTOON

SCI-BUDDIES

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CARTOON

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LAUNCH YOUR FUTURE

40 months = to build it

Master’s Students have graduated through this Programme

The team at CPUT are already busy developing ZACUBE-2 which will be 3 times larger than the first

THE FUTURE

22+

postgraduates took 30 000 manhours

MANPOWER

CPUT just launched Africa’s first nanosatellite, ZACUBE-1. Take a look at how we made history in space engineering in Africa.

THE FACTS It contains

1

cm

components relaying information to 1 computer

It measures

10 x 10 x 10

and it weighs

1.2kg

making it about 100 times smaller than SPUTNIK (world’s first satellite launched) Amazingly it will use the same amount of power as a

3 watt light (the same as a bicycle’s light bulb)

THE MISSION

times a day

The nanosatellite will orbit earth at an altitude of

km

600 15

ZACUBE-1 will collect SPACE WEATHER DATA and send it back to earth

Antennae

7

spread over 100m2 in Hermanus will receive the satellite’s signal

Ground Control

station at CPUT’s Bellville Campus will track, collect data and command the satellite

Join the winning team at CPUT’s French South African Institute of Technology (F’SATI): Developing South Africa’s future space engineers.

www.cput.ac.za/fsati

CPUT

CPUT LAUNCHES AFRICA’S

FIRST NANOSATELLITE

T

he Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has opened a new world of space exploration for South Africa with the launch of the country’s first CubeSat, Tshepiso.

Measuring 10x10x10cm, weighing 1.2kg and running on the same amount of power as a 3 Watt light bulb, the nanosatellite was launched on 21 November 2013 from the Yasny Launch Base in Russia.

Code named ZACUBE-1, the nanosatellite is approximately 100 times smaller than Sputnik, the first satellite launched into space in 1957, but despite its size, this

nanosatellite has a very serious mission. It carries a high-frequency radio beacon that will be used to study the propagation of radio waves through the ionosphere, providing valuable space weather data to the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) Space Science Directorate.

SKILLS CAPACITY The development of this innovative device affirms CPUT’s place as the leading South African institution for the development of human skills capacity for the country’s space industry.

The nanosatellite was designed and built by 40 postgraduate students

following the Satellite Systems Engineering Programme offered at the university’s French South African Institute of Technology (F’SATI). This highly specialised programme was introduced by CPUT as a dedicated programme to develop the country’s future space engineers who will be required to grow and sustain the country’s space industry.

This nanosatellite mission is the first complete mission implementation

by F’SATI and was developed in collaboration with SANSA and with funding from the Department of Science and Technology, the National Research Foundation and CPUT.

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CPUT

TECHNOLOGY

Director of F’SATI, Professor Robert Van Zyl, says the key to the programme’s success is CubeSats, which were developed several years ago by Professor JordiPuig-Suari from California Polytechnic State University and Professor Bob Twiggs from Stanford University, to serve as a cost-effective alternative to the traditional approach to satellite design and implementation.

Van Zyl says CubeSats provide a technology platform for practical, hands-on skills training and applied research.

“This approach offers our students a unique learning experience and prepares them very well to participate in the South African space industry,” he says.

CubeSats use the same engineering principles as any big satellite and requires students to follow similar procedures followed by scientist and engineers who are involved in bigger satellite missions. CPUT students who worked on the nanosatellite had to go through the design, development, test

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Stellenbosch University.

What sets us apart?

Are you creative and eager to explore? So is Stellenbosch University.

Do you see the world as your classroom and your future as yours to shape?

YOU UNLIMITED www.maties.com

Branding | www.gstudio.co.za

Stellenbosch University does. Are you driven to make a difference?

Then Stellenbosch is the place for you.

SKA

The Square Kilometre Array

Radio Telescope (SKA)

South Africa at the heart of development

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KIDS COMMENTS SKA

S

o we might have all heard and read about the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope (SKA). So we are going to try to break it down for you so you may know about it with some interesting facts.

These facts will help point out what all the fuss is about.

Africa but about 20 percent of it will be in Australia and New Zealand. There will be eight African countries partnering South Africa, these will be; Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zambia. Proud to be African for sure!

 South African scientists are leading two of the 10 teams that will design the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope. And the final design of the project will come from South Africa.

 Radio telescopes work like our usual household radios. As you tune your radio to different frequencies, the receiver in your radio picks up different music stations.

So just picture that radio you have at home.

Radio telescopes collect radio waves from objects millions or billions of light years away from Earth. These radio signals will be processed by computers that will interpret the signals to form images that give us snapshots of the Universe.

 So you may wonder why there is so much noise about the SKA well for starters it will be the biggest and strongest in the world while it will also be fifty times more powerful than any other radio telescope. Whats even better is the fact that it will be ten thousand times faster than any other known radio telescope.  The Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope, will be the world’s biggest telescope and one of the biggest scientific projects to have ever been engaged in.

And it will combine information from over millions of radio receivers in Africa and Australia. Interesting huh?  Through the SKA scientists might finally be able to get answers about dark matter and dark energy.  It will be located mainly in

 Scientists will use the SKA to understand how the stars and galaxies formed, evolved over time and they will also look for life outside our universe. So it will be more like our big information compass.  South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope is an SKA ‘pathfinder telescope. It will consist of 64 dish-shaped antennas and will be the most powerful radio telescope in the southern hemisphere. MeerKAT (and the Australian SKA Pathfinder, called ASKAP) will become part of SKA Phase 1. MeerKAT will form 25% of the Phase 1 dish array in South Africa. South Africa is currently preparing the infrastructure for MeerKAT

and plans to have the first dish installed at the Karoo site at the end of 2013 or early in 2014. Two other pathfinder telescopes are located in Australia: Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA).  Well so you might be wondering why the SKA is built in such remote locations. This is simply because radio telescopes must be located as far away as possible from man-made electronics and machines that emit radio waves. As they may disturb radio signals coming from the distant Universe. The location should also be as high and dry as possible, to avoid radio waves being absorbed by the moisture in our atmosphere.  When fully operational – phase one will run until about 2023 and the big SKA will only be constructed from about 2024 – its thousands of antennas in three unique configurations will enable astronomers to monitor space in greater detail. Trust me it really is worth the long wait!

So the SKA will not only change how we will see the universe but it will also ensure our South African Science Stars will be involved in an amazing programme that will leave them with good skills and provide jobs in science as well.

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CAREER

A STRONG CAREER CHOICE Working in the galaxy

What is Astronomy?

In simple terms Astronomy can be described as the study of the universe beyond our Earth’s atmosphere. In other words Astronomy is a science primarily concerned about the Universe, stars and the bodies that are near and far beyond mother earth. Through the use of physics, Astronomers seek to gain knowledge about the evolution of our vast universe and also forecast future probabilities.

Interesting enough Astronomy is probably one of the oldest sciences.

Simply because it has been and still remains a study of the fascinating and at times unknown. Let’s face it knowing more about our universe is just interesting and dare I say cool. Everyday Astronomers gain new information about our galaxy and much more importantly they answer the important questions of how our universe works.

What do Astronomers actually do?

Through using their knowledge

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Africa, some of these are; The National Astronomy and Space Science Programme (run by various institutions), The University of Cape Town, University of the Free State, University of KwaZulu-Natal ( Durban), University of KwaZuluNatal (Pietermaritzburg), NorthWest University, Rhodes University, University of South Africa, University of Stellenbosch and the University Personal attributes needed of the Witwatersrand.

Salary expectations To study astronomy you should: • Have an inquisitive mind, Astronomers earn between R10 000 to R24 000 a month depending on • Have strong problem their qualifications and experience.

solving skills, So not only will you be entering a • Enjoy the study of

mathematics and physics, really interesting field but you will • Be highly motivated and also be rewarded handsomely for

love learning new things, your efforts. You can be employed by the South African Astronomical • Work well within a team, • Have the ability to keep Observatory, Hartebeesthoek Radio

working and trying hard k Astronomy Observatory or even

despite disappointments, work as a lecturer or researcher at a university. There is no shortage of • Be a science star! career opportunities in South Africa.

Where can I study Astronomy? So it is all up to you.

You can study Astronomy at a number of institutions in South of physics and mathematics Astronomers research the origins, operational elements, evolution of space and future probabilities.

Their aim is to discover where we are coming from as a planet in the galaxy, who else is within our vicinity and how to explore deeper into space among other aspects.

Simply put they do an awesomejob.

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

PROFILE CSIR

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Working in the galaxy

A

cutting-edge South African-developed application that detects fires from space will soon help combat Angola’s high incidence of wild fire. The technology is called the Advanced Fire Information System (AFIS) and was developed at CSIR Meraka Institute. The implementation of AFIS in Angola forms part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the CSIR and the National Technology Center of the Angolan Ministry of Science and Technology. It is one of the early initiatives under the auspices of the South African-Angolan science bi-lateral relations put in place by the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST).

country”.

Meanwhile, the CSIR in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Environmental Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and South African National Space Agency are pleased to announce the launch of the Advanced Fire Information System (AFIS) mobile app for Apple iOS and Android devices. The app provides fire managers, farmers and disaster personnel with a tool on their smart devices to receive information regarding the prediction, detection, monitoring and assessment of wild fires across Southern Africa as well as globally.

Main features include: • Current wildfire locations detected by satellite • 5 Day Fire Danger forecast for any location • Day since last burn at any location • Current vegetation conditions (curing factor) • Geo tagged photo uploads of fires across the region • Fire alert push notifications The AFIS mobile app forms part of the larger AFIS System that supports fire managers across the globe with both historical and near real time fire information. The system utilises information from various sources including earth observation satellites and numerical weather prediction models to assist in fire management.

The mobile app is available for free to all users with Apple IPhones and Ipads as well as to all Android devices.

Angola is the most fire prone country in Africa and AFIS aims to help the Angolan government address the problem. It is a real-time, wide area wild fire detection, monitoring and alerting system that utilises satellite imaging. An advanced geo-spatial information processing system detects fires and consequently alerts infrastructure owners, land managers, disaster management and fire protection personnel to fires in their areas. Capacity development in geospatial systems and research into fire danger forecasting and burn area assessment will be undertaken as part of the implementation project.

The CSIR’s Lee Annamalai says that negotiations to implement AFIS in several other countries are at an advanced state, with the system in pilot operations already in 6 countries. The success of AFIS is an indication of the potentially significant contribution that Earth Observation can make to the South African economy. “And”, adds Annamalai, “of the robust Earth Observation technology capability that is alive and well in the Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

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BIG BANG THEORY SAASTA

The big bang theory

Unlocking the deep secrets of the Universe

P

rof Azwinndini Muronga a Professor of Physics gave a public lecture at the University of Venda on the 18th of October. His lecture focused on shedding more light on our vast universe and was titled ‘Unlocking the deep secrets of the Universe’.

Prof Muronga started his lecture by showing a video clip from the Science Fiction Movie – Star Trek : “Space: The final frontier.” This, he said, was no longer science fiction, because Voyager 1 is now the first man-made spacecraft to leave the solar system and it has entered interstellar space – which is the space between the stars. From this point Prof Muronga discussed what our solar system consists of and how big it is.

In this interesting lecture he showed the planets and moons of the solar system with the sun at the centre. He then indicated what it means that Voyager 1 has left the system. He said by the time of its last contact with Earth, Voyager 1 was at 19 billion kilometres from the sun and still going, which is just so hard to even think of.

Prof Muronga then discussed our place in the Universe.

He started by showing how our solar system forms part of the much larger Milky Way Galaxy. The stars we see in the evening – about 2 billion of them – form part of the Milky Way Galaxy where we also belong. He even showed the audience where the Earth and the whole solar system is located in our galaxy. He then went on to show that the Milky Way is just one of billions of galaxies, meaning that the Universe is really huge.

Thereafter he discussed the origin of the Universe – that it started from a Big Bang some 14 billion years ago. And it has been expanding since then. “We know this through looking at the light coming from the furthest galaxies in the universe – and the light from there has been travelling for 14 billion years to reach us,” he explained.

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Prof Muronga then told the audience that by comparison the nearest stars to us (outside the solar system), Alpha Centauri, is about 4 light years away. One light year is about 9 trillion kilometres. He said light from that three-star system takes about 4 years to reach Earth. In comparison, the light we see from our star – the sun – takes about 8 minutes to reach the Earth. He highlighted that we are just a tiny grain of sand in the sea of stars in the Universe.

Prof Muronga also showed a video clip of how spacecraft, space shuttles and robots such as the Mars Curiosity Rover are taken from Earth to space and to other planets. He also showed a picture of what the earth looks like from the surface of planet Mars. Together with Jupiter and Venus, they looked like any three ordinary stars in the sky. But one of them – the top one- was Earth – our home.

Prof Muronga then addressed the question of the fate of the Universe. He said the universe was expanding at a fast rate. And if it continues this way it will end up as ice because it will become extremely cold. He also said that there were two other scenarios – one, that the universe will be pulled back into a single point and end up in a big crunch; and another one where the Universe will expand and contract in a periodic cycle.

Back here on earth Prof Muronga said scientists were exploring the beginning of the universe in the laboratory.

Such experiments are conducted at CERN in Switzerland in a 27 km circular tunnel build 100 m deep underground.

One result of this research has been the discovery of the so called Higgs boson - a particle which is believed to give mass to the rest of the particles in the Universe. Prof Muronga showed a video clip of the experiments in this tunnel.

This was a well-attended and interactive public lecture which was opened by the Acting Dean of the School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Prof Simiso Moyo. Dr Kirui proposed a vote of thanks.

THEBANG BIG BANG THEORY BIG THEORY SAASTA

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Research that can change the world

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Impact is at the core of the CSIR's mandate. In improving its research focus and ensuring that it achieves maximum impact in industry and society, the organisation has identified six research impact areas: Energy - with the focus on alternative and renewable energy.

Health - with the aim of improving health care delivery and addressing the burden of disease.

Natural Environment - with an emphasis on protecting our environment and natural resources.

Built Environment - with a focus on improved infrastructure and creation of sustainable human settlements.

• Defence and security - contributing to national efforts to build a safer country.

• Industry - in support of an efficient, competitive and responsive economic infrastructure.

• • • •

www.csir.co.za

CSIR are therefore empowered as they are exposed to legal and science professionals. Winning teams get the opportunity to participate in the world final and some students get the opportunity to study overseas.

Lulu is also involved in a number of other youth activities; she was in the organising team of the International Programme Management Committee Youth Plenary, which put together a workshop for young professionals in the field of science, aerospace and the space environment. This workshop was held to get inputs from young professionals about challenges they face; ideas on how to better the field; opportunities that are available; and to create a network.

Recognition and challenges “Recognition for me is working with people who allow me to do what I am passionate about, that is, opening doors for me to bring law into science and acknowledging it,” adds Lulu. She also mentions that support from colleagues and being appointed in the different roles in the international bodies, is part of her being recognised.

The biggest challenge for her is trying to make it in the science industry, especially with her legal background; she mentions that people often ask her, “What are you trying to do?”

Her strategy to overcoming these challenges is being open-minded and flexible; “I try to do everything that my job requires and more.”

What empowers her?

Lulu is currently pursuing an LLD (a doctorate in law) at the University of Pretoria, specialising in space law.

She recalls her uncle’s words, the three D’s namely, “determination, dedication and discipline,” and says that they keep her grounded and encouraged to go further in her career and studies. She is a firm believer in education and self-empowerment.

“Furthermore, I have realised that what empowers me, is the empowerment of others. When I look at the number of courageous, wonderful, and determined women out there, I feel encouraged and feel that I should do more.”

Striking a balance “It’s quite challenging to strike a balance, especially with the responsibilities that we have as women, but support of friends and family has kept me going. I cannot imagine how I could go on without having the closest people around me.”

When asked how she relaxes and unwinds, she eagerly shares a picture she painted; it is about outer space. “I love painting, it calms me, and I often get lost in the art!”

WOMEN BRINGING

LAW TO SCIENCE The galaxy

L

ulekwa Makapela, better known as ‘Lulu’, is a project manager at the National Earth Observations and Space Secretariat (NEOSS) office. The secretariat is a Department of Science and Technology initiative, hosted by the CSIR Strategic Initiatives and Implementations Unit (SIIU).

Lulu is an advocate by profession, having started her career in the courtroom before discovering her love of science. Her mentor encouraged her to read material on space and space law and that sparked her interest in the field. “At the time, space law was only beginning in South Africa.”

With many years in the space-related field, her career at the CSIR began in 2011. Her job at NEOSS involves coordinating all space and Earth observations activities by making sure that forums are established for user communities. The purpose is to make sure that Earth observation users, data providers, academia, and industry players participate in what is called a ‘South African Group on Earth Observations’.

“We are creating this vibrant community wherein we are the link between the government and players in the Earth observations community,” says Lulu.

Making a difference She is a member of the International Institute of Space Law and also the African regional organiser for the Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition. These roles allow her to impact greatly on the attitudes that young Africans in general, South Africans in particular, have towards science and sparking an interest in pursuing science-related careers.

The Moot Court - an all Africa competition for university students - is one mechanism to capture the interest of students. Students have to argue a fictitious case in a topical area set by the International Institute of Space Law, such as space debris, Earth observations, space collision, space communications international responsibility and liability, etc. Students

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STRAP SUTHERLAND

THE TOWN OF STARS

EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE S

utherland is a small town in the Western Cape. It is just about a 4 hour drive from Cape Town. This small mysterious town is the home of the largest single-aperture telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, the Southern African Large Telescope, which is also known as SALT. More interestingly it is the coldest place in South Africa and the temperatures there can get as low as minus 16 degrees Celsius.

Another interesting aspect is that The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), is just 18 km from the town.

The main headquarters of SAAO are in Observatory Cape Town but the telescopes are in Sutherland. Visitors can visit the base during the day and at night. Night visits will guarantee that you get to look at the stars through 2 big telescopes dedicated just for visitors.

SALT So what exactly is this SALT Telescope in Sutherland and why is it so special? Well for starters SALT is the biggest single optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. So maybe we should actually refer to it as a giant telescope. As the pictures will show you it is more like a whole big building on its own. Simply because a wide structure was needed to house this special telescope. On a more technical level SALT has (a hexagonal primary mirror array 11 metres across, comprising 91 individual 1.2m hexagonal mirrors). This makes it extremely powerful

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making it easier for us too look deep in space and see what is out there.

SALT can actually detect the light from faint or distant objects that are out there in the Universe. Something that is a billion times too dim to be seen by our normal eyes like a candle flame on the moon will become visible.

SALT’s main job is to scan deep space, witnessing the birth and death of planets, gazing into distant galaxies and recording the size and age of our universe, stars, galaxies and quasars billions of light years away.

This beautiful and huge telescope cost about US$30 million (R300 million) and South Africa contributed almost one third of this the rest was settled by international partners.

Why Sutherland?

So I guess by now you are all wondering why all these amazing things are based in Sutherland. Why not in Kimberley or George right? Well simply because the small town of Sutherland has cloudless night skies that have not been polluted which makes it easier for us to view the stars without much disturbance. Well a lot of rural towns remain unpolluted and maybe some of them are also cloudless you might say. So most importantly Sutherland has a very high

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elevation above sea level, meaning it is on really high ground and this aspect makes it a perfect spot for us to look at the skies and also a perfect place for the South African Astronomical Observatory.

How is the experience?

Here at science stars we love all things scientific. So we decided to pay the small town a visit. And what an experience we had! We had to wear heavy coats to remain warm in the cold temperature, and we learnt so much and got to see the different stars through amazing and big telescopes.

We went to view more stars at Sterland which is in Sutherland. Where we watched a two hour show at 20:00pm and we got to see all the different star constellations and their sizes in the universe.

They also explained different aspects of stars and where we could find them using really cool lasers that would point in the sky.

It was just really amazing. By the time we looked at the actual stars we already knew all about them!

We spent 2 more days in Sutherland and by the time we left we just couldn’t say goodbye to this small but beautiful town that taught us so much about Astronomy.

I really think every Science Star should get an opportunity to visit this lovely place. It will simply blow your mind away.

SUTHERLAND

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ASTRONOMY

ASTRONOMY

IS THE FUTURE Teaching Teachers

O

we could see these places just like we would be seeing them with binoculars or a telescope.

The best thing about this programme is that it is free. Teachers and learners can get it from www. stellarium.org

After this session we visited SAAO project manager, Troshini Naidoo, in an upstairs classroom at CPUT - there she was unpacking the “Universe in a Box” programme. 4th year students huddled around her to look at the various gadgets in the box.

During this session we were enthralled by the simplicity of it all and how things like the constellation were simplified to just Kazie-Ravat, who is an Education being an internationally defined Technology Coordinator at SAAO, area of the celestial sphere. kicked of the day by introducing us all to an exciting programme “Stellarium makes the sky availcalled Stellarium. It’s basically able to all of us. It is the practical software which you download side to teaching and learning. This onto your computer and it allows allows you to have the constellayou to explore the night sky from tion lines as well. You begin to see any location on earth, at any time what you are talking about when of the year, on your computer or talking about a constellation,” contablet. We opened it up, entered cluded Kazie-Ravat. places we would like to see and

“Universe in a Box” is an educational toolkit that assists teachers to teach space and sciences to young learners. It has over 40 practical activities as well as the materials and models required to do them. All in one box!

n 10 October 2013 the South African Astronomical Observatory’s (SAAO’s) Troshini Naidoo and Veronique Kazie-Ravat visited the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s (CPUT’s) education faculty to present their experience using the Stellarium and Universe-in-a-Box teaching programmes.

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We arrived in Naidoo’s session as she was saying “…when teaching astronomy, teach learners where they are in context of the universe. Start with what they know. Use common household items even!”

From there onwards it was all about the facts; these facts were accompa-

ASTRONOMY

If the sun’s rays beam onto an object, it will cast a shadow which is positioned away from the sun. The shadow always moves clockwise around the object casting it and its length continuously diminishes between sunset and noon and, afterwards.

However, the shadow length does not only change in the course of a day but also during a year: for example, the length of the noon shadow is much smaller in summer than in winter!

Fun activity To experiment with this, you only need the following: A torch or a lamp, toys, A3 white paper and clock to see changes at 9am, 12 midday and 3pm) Pretend the torch or lamp is the sun, shine it on to the toy figures which are placed on the white paper and thereafter observe the shadows at the different times. nied by practical examples from the box. Here’s what we learnt: - The Solar System as a whole is part of the Milky Way system, a collection of about 200 million stars that are arranged in a spiral, along with gas and dust.

- Millions of these stars possess planets and these, in turn, have moons. For certain, we are not alone in the Milky Way, but the distances between the stars are so big that a visit to another world would be very difficult. Even the star nearest to us, Proxima Centauri, is 4.22 light years (over 40 trillion km) away from us, which is so distant that a journey there would take generations of human beings to be completed.

The point of this exercise will be to show how the length of shadows changes according to the time of the day. Enjoy!

There are many more resources available for such practical experiments online, visit: www.unawe.org *Teachers and students who are interested in the Universe-in-a-Box can contact Troshini Naidoo, EU-UNAWE Project Manager, on 021 460 9307 or email troshini@saao.ac.za

Speaking of the moon: - The Moon is about 4 billion years old.

- The moon has a diameter of 3476 kilometers.

- The distance between the Moon and the Earth is 384 400 kilometres, and it could contain the Earth 30 times.”

And since we’ve mentioned the earth, we might as well share the following as well: - The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.

- In one year (365 days and 6 hours), the earth revolves once around the Sun at a distance of 149.6 million kilometres.

There is always confusion around the earth rotating on its own axis as well as the earth revolving around the sun. Naidoo simplified it for us as follows: “The Earth rotates on its own axis and takes 24 hours for one rotation - from noon to noon. So the earth is also spinning on its own as it goes around the sun!”

As she explained this to us, she pulled out a globe, light stand with a bulb and two little mini-people figurines from the box to demonstrate the earth rotating on its own axis as well as the idea of night and day.

The last exercise we observed in the session was on shadows and how the sun works: Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

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25 YEARS OF THE EXTRAORDINARY TCTA is a state-owned liability management entity responsible for bulk raw water infrastructure development

TCTA Career Opportunities The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) is proud to contribute towards a system which aims to deliver a sustainable water supply across Southern Africa.

Our specialist skills, from sourcing project finance to planning, design and construction, place TCTA in the ideal position to facilitate development of bulk raw water infrastructure.

From an initial single project, TCTA now manages a portfolio of nine. These are the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 1; the Berg Water Project (Western Cape); the Vaal River Eastern Subsystem Augmentation Project (Mpumalanga); the Mooi-Mgeni Transfer Scheme Phase 2 (KZN Midlands); the Olifants River Water Resource Development Project Phase 2 (Limpopo); the Mokolo-Crocodile (West) Water Augmentation Project (Limpopo); the Komati Water Scheme Augmentation Project (Mpumalanga) and, more recently, the Acid Mine Drainage Project (Gauteng) and the Metsi Bophelo Borehole Project (across six provinces).

TCTA is also expected to play a key role in the funding of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase 2, the implementation of which was announced in a joint statement issued in August 2011 by the Governments of Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa.

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“TCTA launched Project Naledi in 2005 with the expressed aim of recruiting, funding and employing youths from previously disadvantaged areas, with particular focus on rural areas.”

This was contrived as a contribution to the government’s transformation agenda of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA), the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) and the National Human Resource Strategy. The JIPSA framework broadly identified developing scarce skills in the following high priority areas: • • •

Engineering and planning skills for jobs in transport, communications and energy; Engineering projects for cities and towns, to meet the needs of municipalities; Management and planning skills in education, health and municipalities.

The project intends to: • • • • •

Identify deserving and capable students from disadvantaged communities; Recruit candidates into engineering, project management, finance and accounting disciplines; Support the candidates throughout their studies by providing academic tutoring and mentoring; Provide specific and on-going support to the students that enter into accounting and engineering fields through regular follow-up sessions; and Develop a model for increasing participation of youth into the scarce skills category

All the above services are in support of government’s developmental agenda to make a better life for all. TCTA is committed to assisting government to achieve its socio-economic objectives.

For more information on TCTA visit: www.tcta.co.za or call +2712 6831200

Cut out and place on your wall for easy reference

SCIENCE WEEK

FUN FACTS BMW

ASTRONOMY

FUN FACTS Astronomy is just one of the most interesting sciences.

Personally my favourite. Here are a few interesting facts about the science of astronomy. You will find these interesting, amazing and even shocking. Enjoy!

8 Its estimated that the number of stars in the universe is greater than the number of grains of sand on all the beaches in the world! On a clear night, we can see the equivalent of a handful of sand. And even on the clearest night, the human eye can only see about 3,000 stars.

There are an estimated 100,000,000,000 in our galaxy alone! Unbelievable – well believe it because its true.

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So we all love shooting stars but did you know that they are actually usually tiny dust particles falling through our atmosphere. Comets sometimes pass through Earth’s orbit, leaving trails of dust behind. Then as the earth moves through the dust in its path, the particles heat up, creating those streaks we love so much but generally get to see in the night sky.

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Seasons last 21 years on Uranus while each pole has 42 years of sunlight followed by 42 years of darkness. Huh can you say that again.

Astronomy Fun facts

3 Venus is actually hotter than Mercury, even though it is further away from the Sun. The thickness of Venus’ atmosphere traps heat near the surface of the planet and this makes it hotter.

What we actually see now is the past.

Light from distant stars and galaxies takes so long to reach us, that we are actually seeing objects as they appeared hundreds, thousands or even millions of years ago. So when we look up at the sky, we are really just looking back in

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Saturn has such a low density that if you placed it on a planet bigger than Saturn which is full of water with gravity (like earth) it would literally float. So in other words Saturn would float if you would put it in water.

2

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4 The Sun produces so much energy, that every second the core releases the equivalent of 100 billion nuclear bombs. Yes remember the famous nuclear bomb from world the second world war. Well now picture 100 billion of those. And yet the Sun is still relatively small compared to other stars

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

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So we all know that our galaxy, the Milky Way is huge, but have you ever considered just how big it is? Just imagine that if you could travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) it would take 100,000 years to cross our galaxy!

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PROFILE QUIZ

Q’s

A

Quiz Q’s & A’s

Who was the first astronaut to perform a spacewalk in March 1965?

1. Alexei Leonov

F

What is the popular name for the robot geologist that NASA use for exploration on Mars?

2. Alan Shepard

1. Scopes

3. Valentina Tereshkova

2. Capsules

4. Yuri Gagarin

3. Orbiters 4. Rovers

B

Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space orbited the Earth once in 1961. Two years later, the first woman in space orbited our planet …

C

G

Which of the following will you NOT find in our Solar System?

1. 3 times

1. Meteor stream

2. 37 times

2. White Dwarf

3. 48 times

3. Comet

4. 118 times

4. Asteroid

A combination of the following factors causes the Moon to appear the same size in the sky

H

Which of the following statements is true about a comet’s tail?

as the Sun.

1. Always point towards the Sun

1. Its size and distance from the Earth

2. Is sometimes absorbed by the comet

2. Its size and colour from the Earth

3. Always trails behind the comet

3. Its movements around the Earth and the

4. We cannot tell which way the tail points

Sun

when it is on the other side of the Sun

4. Its appearance and shape

D

An astronomical event that occurs twice each

I

Why is the Moon not considered a planet? It is because

year as the Sun reaches its highest or lowest

1. It is too small

excursion relative to the celestial equator on

2. It is too large

the celestial sphere is called a/an________

3. It orbits the Earth

1. Solstice

4. It is too close to the Earth

2. Equinox 3. Ecliptic 4. Easter

J

If your age on Earth is 14 years, how old will you be on planet Venus?

1. Same age as on Earth

E

If your weight on Earth is 50 kg, what would

2. 14 Venusian years

your approximate weight be on the Sun and

3. More than 14 Venusian years

on the Moon?

4. Less than 14 Venusian years

1. 119 kg (Sun) and 115 kg (Moon) 2. 873 kg (Sun) and 39 kg (Moon)

3. 1000 kg (Sun) and 960 kg (Moon) 4. 1353 kg (Sun) and 8 kg (Moon)

A’s A. 1 B. 3 C. 1 D. 1 E. 4 F. 4 G. 2 H. 3 I. 3 J. 3

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

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PROFILE MOTIVATION

Success is Easy Unlocking the deep secrets of the Universe

A

t this moment in time you hold in your hands a magazine and your eyes are scanning an article that represents an awesome force, and I trust that you will be as serious about reading this article as I have been about writing it.

As you read this you are at the beginning of a new year. This is the start of new things, but I imagine that you are dwelling on what was, what happened and what could have been or you are savouring your successes.

I want to share the formula for success and failure with you.

It is your personal philosophy that establishes your attitude. Your attitude in turn determines the level of your activity, or what you do. That activity produces a final and proportionate result, and the result provides the lifestyle that we live. The results and lifestyle are the effects of our personal philosophy, attitude and activity – the cause. So if we want to change the effect (result and lifestyle) you must alter the cause. Don’t curse the effect and continue to nourish the cause.

Learn from personal experience, you have a university of experience within you.

These experiences suggest that certain things are right and others wrong. Failure must teach you or success will surely not reward you.

Learn from an outside voice. Choose someone or a group that you trust and respect.

Others can help us to examine our actions objectively.

Learn from other people’s experience with failure. Michael Jordan, for instance says “I failed over and over again… and that’s why I succeeded”. Thomas Edison said (after struggling almost 10 000 times to get his invention- the light bulb-to work; “I have not failed, I have only found 10 000 ways that won’t work”.

Become a good observer (all events affect us and leave an imprint, you will miss opportunities if you do not pay attention to events) and be a good listener (learning what to say comes only when we have learned to listen, remember speaking puts on display all … or the little… that you have learned.

Develop a Powerful Personal Philosophy

The Formula for Failure

Everything that goes into and on inside of the human mind in the form of thoughts, ideas and information forms part of our personal philosophy. This philosophy then influences our habits and behaviour. You receive multiple inputs, what you know comes from school, friends, associates, media influences, home, the streets; it also comes from your religion, the books we read, from listening and observing.

Begin with an objective review of the conclusions you have drawn about life. Any conclusion that is not working for you is working against you!

Then start changing your thinking habits by inputting new information. Remember unless you change what you know, you will continue to believe, decide and act in a manner that is contrary to your best interest.

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You do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. Put differently, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgement repeated every day.

The danger is that you continue with these errors because nothing seems to happen to you. The sky did not fall in on you. With a powerful personal philosophy guiding your every step, you will become more aware of your errors in judgement and more aware that each error does matter.

The formula for Success

First make the future part of your current philosophy. Look at the impending consequences of your current conduct.

Then develop a few simple disciplines and practice them every day and experience the results. When you change your diet, you will noticeably see the change in your

Science Stars Magazine Issue 3 | www.sciencestars.co.za

health. When you exercise you will feel a new vitality. When you read, you will experience a new awareness and a new level of confidence.

Whatever new discipline you practice daily will drive you to become even better at developing new disciplines and they will multiply.

Success and happiness are easy to achieve

Taking one step at a time, all the things that success and happiness require are actually quite easy to achieve. The reason why it is so easy is because you can do it, and anything you have the ability to do is always easy.

Now, you may have to work hard at the daily disciplines of this equation, but reaching out with your talents to embrace success and its rewards is very easy to do.

“But” you say; “If it is so easy, why don’t more of us achieve it?” Because while it is easy to do the things that success and happiness require, it is also easy not to do them!

The choice is yours

Don’t Devalue Yourself

Only you can devalue yourself. Ask around and you will discover that people want to be like someone else. Prefer to be yourself. And don’t die before being born. And remember anything can be changed.

Don’t insult the dog by buying into the belief that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks – I have seen it done and I am here to tell you the tale.

Allow these words to touch you. I wish for you all the success, wealth and happiness in life, because the time for life, love and to do is now!

Donavon Goliath

Regional Manager at Shanduka Black Umbrellas by day but my life job is MindSet Changer, Experience Enhancer.