Astronomy in Namibia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Starry sky over the Spitzkoppe

The Astronomy in Namibia takes place at both a professional, internationally as a research location and on the semi-professional and amateur level off. In general, Namibia is one of the leading global locations for astronomical observations alongside Chile .

Science location

High Energy Stereoscopic System

An international astronomical research project is based in Namibia. This is the High Energy Stereoscopic System 29 km northeast of the Gamsberg on the Göllschau farm. With Cherenkov telescopes, it images cosmic gamma rays . The system was put into operation in 2002 and is operated by the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics and supported by numerous countries, including the European Union .

In April 2019, the construction of a telescope for exploring black holes by the international network Event Horizon Telescope on Gamsberg was announced.

With Farm Aar as one of two locations worldwide, Namibia applied to set up the international Cherenkov Telescope Array , which was ultimately awarded to Chile in mid-2015.

In the 1960s, the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy planned to set up a telescope in what was then South West Africa , but had to stop this project due to political pressure (South Africa was outlawed due to apartheid ). The European Southern Observatory opened instead as the La Silla Observatory in Chile in 1969.

education

In Namibia there are various educational initiatives on astronomy, including the Namibia Scientific Society , the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) project of the University of Namibia in partnership with the Botswana International University of Science and Technology and financed by the British Newton Fund and Space Observation Learning Center in Namibia (SOLNA). The Namibia Institute of Space Technology is affiliated with the Namibia University of Science and Technology .

Dark-Sky Reserve

With the NamibRand International Dark Sky Reserve of the International Dark-Sky Association, Namibia has had an international light protection area since 2012 . It was the first ever Dark Sky Reserve in a developing country . The research into light protection areas is being supervised by the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET).

Astrotourism

M 8 ( lagoon mist ) photographed on a farm in Namibia Astro

Astro tourism in the context of amateur astronomy takes place in Namibia on four (as of May 2019) so-called astro farms and on the International Amateur Observatory (IAS) on the Gamsberg as part of guest observatories . Not far from the IAS is the Astofarm Hakos with the Vehrenberg Observatiorum and the Hakos Observatory . There are numerous observatories on the Tivoli astronomical farm, southeast of the capital Windhoek on the edge of the Kalahari . The Kiripotib astronomical farm , which specializes in astrophotography , is 150 kilometers southeast of Windhoek . The fourth project was founded by DeepSkySafaris in mid-2019 . In cooperation with the Rooisand Desert Ranch , 180 km southwest of Windhoek, numerous telescopes are available for amateur astronomers for observing the sky .

Astro farms are specialized guest farms that have specialized in renting telescopes and observatories .

Meteorites

Hoba meteorite near Grootfontein

Various meteorites have been found in Namibia and impact craters can be seen. These include the Hoba meteorite , the largest meteorite found on Earth to date. It is located on the grounds of the “Hoba” farm in the Otavibergen , about 20 kilometers west of Grootfontein .

A sight in Windhoek is the meteorite fountain, which originally consists of 33 fragments of the Gibeon meteorite . The name of the meteorite comes from the site near the town of Gibeon , where fragments of the iron meteorite first appeared.

The Red Ridge is a medium-sized impact crater in the Namib in southern Namibia within the Tsau-ǁKhaeb- (restricted area) National Park , in the ǁKaras region . The crater has a diameter of about 2.5 kilometers.

literature

  • Mirjana Pović, Michael Backes, Paul Baki et al. : Development in astronomy and space science in Africa , In: Nature Astronomy, Edition 2, 2018, pp. 507-510.

Web links

Commons : Astronomy in Namibia  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Backes: Status of Astronomy in Namibia , University of Namibia, November 2018.
  2. ↑ Namibia ensures progress in astrophysics. Allgemeine Zeitung, April 18, 2019.
  3. ^ The CTA Construction Project. CTA. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  4. ↑ Star gazing in Namibia. Info-Namibia.com. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  5. ↑ Astronomy. Namibia Scientific Society. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  6. ↑ BUILDING CAPACITY IN RADIO ASTRONOMY IN NAMIBIA. University of Namibia, February 16, 2018.
  7. ↑ SOLNA - ASTRONOMY EDUCATION FOR NAMIBIANS. Travel News Namibia, August / September 2010.
  8. ^ Namibia Institute of Space Technology. NUST. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  9. ↑ Dark Sky Reserve. NamibRand Nature Reserve. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  10. ↑ How special is the night sky at NaDEET ?. NaDEET, June 2012.
  11. ↑ Astronomy on Hakos - The Observatories. Hakos Guest Farm. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  12. ↑ Observatories. Tivoli Southern Sky Guest Farm. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  13. ↑ Astronomy - Perfect Conditions. Astrofarm kiripotib. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  14. ↑ DeepSkySafaris.Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  15. ↑ Rooisand Desert Ranch. Retrieved May 25, 2020.