SAAO Cape Town Open Night
July 27 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
The SAAO Open Nights in Cape Town take place on the second and fourth Saturday of every month at 20:00.
All Open Nights will start with a presentation on topics of astronomy or physics. Then, visitors will be given an introduction to the historic McClean telescope, the observatory museum, and the library. If the weather is clear, there will be a chance for stargazing using telescopes set up for the night.
Tickets are published on our website on the 30th of each month.
Please email enquiries@saao.ac.za if you have any queries regarding bookings and tours for Cape Town Open Nights.
Speaker: Venu Prayag
Venu Prayag is a PhD student at the University of Cape Town, researching “cosmic lighthouses” known as pulsars outside of our own Milky Way. He is also the chair of the ambassadors for the International Astronomical Union General Assembly 2024, the “World Cup” of astronomy, which starts in Cape Town on the 6th of August.
Title: Pulsars: Cosmic Lighthouses and How We Find Them
Abstract:
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.