June 2013
South Africa is preparing to host the biggest radio telescope in the world. Along with Australia, the country has been chosen to host the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), which will be 50 times more sensitive than any equipment so far and will seek answers to the origins of the universe.
[…]
“A lot of the science that is going to be done can be summarized as ‘origins.’ How does the universe evolve, how does galaxies evolve, is there life in the universe? There are all sort of answers that we don’t right now have the possibility of getting with the existing telescopes,” he said.
South Africa was competing against Australia to host the telescope. About a year ago, the decision was made to split the SKA between the two countries, but with the core of it being in South Africa.
[…]
The construction of the SKA is due to begin in 2016 and be fully operational in 2024, but a test telescope has already been built to try out the technology. The Karoo Array Telescope 7, also known as KAT-7, has even been transformed into a full working instrument.
What Baratunde Thurston discovered when he unplugged for 25 days. (via fastcompany)
Of course, there are ALWAYS these things. Your digital life should never take the place of having an ACTUAL life, it should help connect you to real world things and make your life - your real life - a little nicer.