The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) is a world-class radio astronomy facility located in the Southern Hemisphere. It comprises of four state-of-the-art radio telescopes, which are used to study the Universe at radio frequencies. The observatory is situated in the Karoo region of South Africa, about 100km from Cape Town.
SARAO was established in 1957 as part of the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope. In 1963, it became an independent organisation known as the Radiophysics Laboratory. In 2012, SARAO merged with the Square Kilometre Array Organisation (SKAO) to form a new organisation called the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO).
The four telescopes at SARAO are:
•MeerKAT: This is a 64-dish array that covers a wide range of frequencies from 60 MHz to 14 GHz. MeerKAT is currently being upgraded to become part of the SKA Phase 1 telescope.
•KAT-7: This 7-dish array operates at frequencies between 850 MHz and 13 GHz. KAT-7 was decommissioned in March 2017 and will be replaced by MeerKAT.
•Hartebeesthoek Radio Telescope (HRT): The HRT consists of two dishes, each 32m in diameter, and operates at frequencies between 160 MHz and 10 GHz.
•APEX Telescope: APEX is a 12m submillimetre telescope located in Chile that operates at wavelengths between 350 microns and 2 mm. SARAO has access to 10% of observing time on this facility through a partnership with ESO (European Southern Observatory).
In addition to these four main telescopes, SARAO also manages several smaller facilities such as the Robberg Radio Telescope and various educational outreach programmes.