The best is yet to come for astronomy in SA

Among the many electronic newsletters on various subjects that end up in my inbox, the ones that I always glance at least briefly, are the astronomy-related ones.

Together with regular “clicks” to visit links via the places like the Astronomy Picture of the Day and numerous newsfeeds, the newsletters from NASA, JPL, Space.com, astronomynow.com, the Planetary Society and various astronomy clubs & societies around the world are very useful to keep up to date with relevant developments.

Naturally, for professional as well as amateur astronomers the “looking up” is the main thing. Professionals worry about funds and research project deadlines if their domes remain closed and data cannot be gathered from ancient light hitting their mirrors. Big, complicated research telescopes like SALT are not commissioned overnight and running them smoothly takes the technical expertise of some of the best minds on the planet. The astronomers find ways to work around problems and use existing data to continue their work or plan new projects from their offices – indeed, their telescopes no longer have the traditional eye pieces and modern research astronomers are mostly desk bound.


Amateurs also get restless if the skies aren’t clear for too long and when there is something wrong with our telescopes or their set-up. Books, charts, the Internet and other sources provide facts and some explanations about the awesome things we see through our telescopes and binoculars. Armchair astronomy also keeps us going when suffering from backaches, the effects of winter colds and other maladies or when our telescopes are out of order. But it also allows us make a direct contribution to science. Thanks to international projects that allow us to contribute to the analysis of data as part of large research projects, we can help to look for extrasolar planetary systems, assist in classifying galaxies, help to create a detailed description of the surface of the moon, or become part of a solar storm watch team. The Internet has also made it easy to become part of international discussion groups and keep in touch with other interested people all over the globe.

For some of us the time spent in this way takes up much more time than actually observing the night sky. Thus, in the last few weeks, news of the largest star ever found (see among others the articles here or here ) had me digging around for more information about large stars. I poured over illustrations and tables of information, comparing different sources and hoping that I will remember some of it – or at least where I put the information!– when I need it again.

Then there was the announcement of the most accurate map of Mars now being available to the public. Look at the article with relevant links here and zoom in to explore and survey the entire surface of the planet from your desktop. That’s what makes armchair astronomy fun!

It was also to my armchair (more correctly, my computer) that news came in – among many other fascinating things - about three space missions that may not be as widely discussed in popular media as some others – but which are coming up with amazing results.

The first of these is the WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission (among others visit the mission site here or read the article here) that has completed its first survey of the entire sky. Here, courtesy of NASA, is a picture of the Pleiades as you have never seen it before (more pictures here).

Then there was news of ESA’s Planck mission that delivered its first all-sky image (the one at the top of this article). You can look in more detail at the picture here.  ESA explains that it shows “the main disc of our Galaxy running across the centre of the image. Immediately striking are the streamers of cold dust reaching above and below the Milky Way. This galactic web is where new stars are being formed, and Planck has found many locations where individual stars are edging toward birth or just beginning their cycle of development.

“Less spectacular but perhaps more intriguing is the mottled backdrop at the top and bottom. This is the ‘cosmic microwave background radiation’ (CMBR). It is the oldest light in the Universe, the remains of the fireball out of which our Universe sprang into existence 13.7 billion years ago.”

The third story came from ESA’s Rosetta mission that flew past asteroid Lutetia on 10 July on its way to a 2014 rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This spacecraft, with NASA instruments aboard, took an amazingly detailed image of the largest asteroid thus far visited by a spacecraft.

Indeed, space exploration has become so commonplace that we generally no longer sit up and take notice at something that would have been sensational 50 or even 40 years ago. Any of these pictures would have been discussed by people everywhere – not only astronomers.

This brings me to the pondering part of this topic. It would be over-idealistic to expect that everyone should be as excited about space exploration as some of us are. In addition, there are also some misconceptions and misunderstandings even among those who should perhaps know better. When I discussed some of these missions recently among people who are actively interested in astronomy, someone had no other remark than to say there were "too many satellites already". Yes space junk is, and probably will increasingly become, an issue and deserves the serious attention it is starting to get, but surely to talk about missions like this in the same breath as “too many satellites”…?

Perhaps missions like Planck, WISE and even Rosetta are often hardly noticed or mentioned by the newspapers, not only because space exploration has become mainstream, but perhaps also because the scientific objectives of some missions are less accessible or “interesting” to John and Jane Citizen. Issues of communication and education may also contribute and many people may neither know nor care about the difference between the many commercial, communication and military satellites orbiting Earth on the one hand, and spacecraft devoted to primary scientific endeavour on the other. The many satellites bring wonderful advantages and in many ways they support scientific and technological developments. So my real lament when even highly educated people do not get excited by WISE and Planck, is when they equate these with “too many satellites” Something about that worries me...

I am an idealist who wishes for a world where the measures by which we live are not power (of all kinds) and money, but rather achievement in science and the arts, improved living conditions (and by that I do not mean 'more luxurious' for those who are already spoilt, but sustainable living conditions that respect the limited resources of Earth while allowing the poor to live with dignity) and indeed creativity in all fields of human endeavour. Such a world would emphasise solid general knowledge that includes science, the arts and effective multilingual and multicultural communication. Too many people live on a 'diet' consisting of consumer commercialism, popular culture, fear and lack of interest beyond localised interests. It is perhaps extreme to think along the lines of a society that Orwell warned against, but despite all our technological developments, it is important that people should not have closed minds and be content in a world where society is dumbed down and controlled by all the wrong stimuli.

It is for these reasons, in addition to the motivations stated so eloquently by Prof.  George Miley of the IAU  during his presentation recently, that the coming of the International Astronomical Union’s Office for Astronomy Development to South Africa and Cape Town in particular, is of monumental importance to the whole of the astronomy community of our country, including the amateurs.

I believe this office can have a major impact on what we do and could lead to many exciting things in terms of a renewed interest in astronomy and the sciences – both as a profession and as a hobby or lifetime interest. I believe it will, in time, demand creative, innovative and energetic responses from ASSA (the Astronomical Society of Southern Africa) and particularly also of its Cape Centre and its members. We are indeed in a very privileged position here in the Cape and our excellent, mutually beneficial relationship with the SAAO is a very good basis for some exciting times ahead.

 The mere fact that the Cape Centre of ASSA was privileged  was privileged enough to host, together with the SAAO, Prof Miley’s talk and be graced by the presence of such illustrious visitors from the IAU that it was attended by many of the country’s top astronomers, illustrates this special relationship. The coming of the office holds great opportunities and promise. We may have to reinvent aspects of our activities – but I have little doubt that it will not only keep astronomy live, but make it even more exciting.

We are lucky enough to be right here in the front seats, witnessing a development that could benefit astronomy all over the world through outreach programmes and also by supporting the work that professionals do by enthusing youngsters to take it up as a career. 

Welcome to the IAU’s Office for Astronomy Development. Well done to Prof Phil Charles and the SAAO, especially Prof Patricia Whitelock, Kevin Govender and those others who worked so hard to make it happen!

Now, let’s brace ourselves for a wonderful new ride. Whether we do so from our desktops, by showing the moon to a child through a telescope, or whether we present a talk or give a hand in some other ways, this new development is a great reason for us all to smile.

The best is yet to come…