SAAO SALT Telescope

Model:

SALT Telescope

Manufacturer:

Supplier:

SAAO: South African Astronomical Observatory

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. It has a hexagonal primary mirror array 11 metres across, comprising 91 individual 1.2m hexagonal mirrors. Although very similar to the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) in Texas, SALT has a redesigned optical system resulting in a larger field of view and effective collecting area. It can detect the light from faint or distant objects in the Universe, a billion times too faint to be seen with the unaided eye - as faint as a candle flame would appear at the distance of the moon. The telescope and instruments are designed to operate from the near ultraviolet to the near infrared (320 to 1700 nm), and offer some unique or rare capabilities on a telescope of this size.

Category:

Telescope

Location

South African Astronomical Observatory

Old Fraserburg Road

Sutherland

6920

Locations

Agricultural Research Council	North West University	University of Johannesburg
Cape Penninsula University of Technology	Oceanographic Research Institute	University of KwaZulu-Natal
Central University of Technology	Rhodes University	University of Limpopo
Centre for Proteomics and Genomics Research	Sefako Makgato Health Sciences University	University of Pretoria
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)	South African Astronomical Observatory	University of South Africa
Durban University of Technology	South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON)	University of the Free State
Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO)	South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB)	University of the Western Cape
iThemba LABS	South African National Space Agency (SANSA)	University of the Witwatersrand
Mintek	South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA)	University of Venda
National Institute for Communicable Diseases	Stellenbosch University	University of Zululand
National Museum	Tshwane University of Technology	Vaal University of Technology
National Zoological Gardens	University of Cape Town	Walter Sisulu University
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University	University of Fort Hare

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SAAO SALT Telescope

Locations