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NRF|SAAO Cape Town Open Night
April 12 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
The NRF|SAAO Open Nights in Cape Town take place on the second and fourth Saturday of every month.
All Open Nights will start with a presentation on topics of astronomy or related science fields. Visitors will then be given an introduction to the history of the observatory, library, museum, and the 120 year-old McClean telescope. If the weather permits, stargazing will take place with McClean and smaller telescopes.
Please note that guests are only allowed entry into our premises from 7:30pm.
Free entry for kids aged 6 & under.
Please email cptbookings@saao.ac.za or call +27 21 447 0025 if you have any queries regarding bookings.
Speakers: Kira Hanmer & Venu Prayag 
Their Abstract and Bios:
From the serendipitous discovery of the first pulsar by Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell in 1967, this talk introduces the fascinating world of radio pulsars and explores what these so-called ‘cosmic lighthouses’ can reveal about the fundamental nature of space and time. Along the way, we will uncover how pulsars have become crucial tools for probing the universe, from testing theories of gravity to mapping the interstellar medium. The talk will culminate with an exploration of how we are currently searching for and discovering new pulsars using the MeerKAT radio telescope, situated in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape of South Africa.
Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are incredibly bright, fleeting flashes of radio emission. They originate from enormous distances, far beyond our own Galaxy, and in just a single millisecond, they release as much energy as the Sun produces over three days. Nearly a thousand FRBs have been detected so far, yet the cause behind them remains one of astronomy’s biggest mysteries. In this talk, we’ll explore how two telescopes here in South Africa are helping us work towards uncovering the origins of these enigmatic bursts.
Kira Hanmer is a PhD student at the University of Cape Town. Her recently completed Masters research was on fast radio bursts – short-lived, bright flashes of radio emission from far outside the Milky Way.
Venu Prayag is a PhD student at the University of Cape Town, researching “cosmic lighthouses” known as pulsars outside of our own Milky Way. Venu was also the chair of the ambassadors for the International Astronomical Union General Assembly 2024, the “World Cup” of astronomy, which took place in Cape Town in August last year.