Quest Volume 5 Number 1
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Date
2009
Authors
Govender, Kevin , Ellis, George , Basset, Bruce , Hlozek, Renee , Menzies, John , Kuhn, Rudi , Kotze, Marissa , Charles, Phil , Vaisenen, Petri , Oliver, Enrico , Whitelock, Patricia , Buckley, David , Medupe, Thebe , Matamela, Themba , Cruse, Lisa , Loaring, Nicola , Gulbis, Amanda and Eric , Warner, BrianJournal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf)
Sponsorship
The Department of Science and Innovation: Academy of Science of South Africa
Abstract
Contents: Astronomy for Africa - The International Year of Astronomy 2009 is important to Africa, celebrating the continent's long history of astronomy and our world-class research facilities: The history of the Universe: cosmology up to 1995 - Cosmology is the grandest study of all, asking the really big questions, such as how the Universe began, which we have only begun to unravel in the last 90 years: Dark energy: cosmology since 1995 - The Universe is not only expanding, but it is accelerating as it does so, under the influence of a dominant energy form that no-one has yet seen: Is there somebody out there? Are we alone in the Universe or is there life elsewhere? - Since the early 1990s we have had the technology to search beyond our own Solar System for extra-solar planets: Black holes in our Galaxy and beyond - Black holes are no longer the stuff of science fiction stories or even just theoretical constructs, but objects that are present in the Universe in some numbers, even in the centre of our own Galaxy: The Milky Way and other galaxies - We sit inside the Milky Way, just one of many galaxies in the Universe; some spiral and some elliptical, but all fascinating: The life and death of stars - The Sun is our nearest star and without it the Earth would be a very different place, but there are countless numbers of other stars. which have been forming and dying over the ages: Big eyes on the stars - Humankind has been looking at the stars for centuries, but in the past few decades the technology to do so has become more and more complex, providing us with more and more information: When a crocodile eats the Sun - Indigenous astronomy - Africa has a long history of astronomy, shown by rock engravings by the San people and the rich heritage of the Timbuktu manuscripts: MeerKAT coming on track during IYA2009 - South Africa has put in a bid to host the Square Kilometer Array, an array of telescopes that will help to answer the big questions about the Universe and the
MeerKAT, the Karoo Array Telescope may form its core: The physics behind astrophysics - Physics is not just a dry, academic subject, but the backbone of the exciting world of astronomy and astrophysics: When the light goes out: Pluto and Charon - Astronomers have developed techniques that allow us to characterise distant objects in the Universe that cannot be observed directly: Astronomy at the Cape - As with many other things, the Cape has a long history of astronomy, initially developed through the necessity to find ways to successfully navigate past it:
Description
DOI
Citation
Peer review status
Non-Peer Reviewed