Karoo region, site for SKA in South Africa. Credit: SKA South Africa
- European and African radio astronomers met last week to explore ways to develop further alliances around radio astronomy between both continents. Astronomers from both continents are establishing the AERAP alliance, The African-European Radio Astronomy Platform, designed to leverage radio astronomy to improve knowledge transfer and stimulate competitiveness across both continents.
- SKA’s location in South Africa may pose problems for the possibility of hydraulic fracturing— or fracking— being investigated by gas company Royal Dutch Shell and petrochemical group Sasol. Last year, South Africa imposed a fracking moratorium on oil and gas exploration licenses in the Karoo region to examine the concerns of environmentalists.
Cosmos Diary 