MeerKAT Telescope

About MeerKAT Telescope

The MeerKAT Telescope is a 64-dish radio interferometer located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa and operated by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO). Situated within the Karoo Central Astronomy Advantage Area, it benefits from a legally protected radio quiet zone that minimizes human-made electromagnetic interference. Each of its 64 offset-parabolic antennas measures 13.5 metres in diameter and is equipped with cryogenic receivers designed to detect faint radio signals from cosmic sources. Operating primarily in the L-band and UHF frequencies, MeerKAT serves as a precursor instrument for the global Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, into which it will eventually be integrated as part of the SKA-Mid array. Since its inauguration in 2018, the telescope has mapped deep-space phenomena, leading to peer-reviewed discoveries including hydroxyl megamasers, giant radio galaxies, and complex filament structures at the centre of the Milky Way. The MeerKAT Telescope dish site is situated in a highly restricted radio-quiet zone and does not permit unarranged public entry.