MULTIWAVELENGTH ASTRONOMY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA Dr Tana Joseph

MANY EYES ON THE SKY: MULTIWAVELENGTH ASTRONOMY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA - Lecture 1 in the Young Scientists Series.

Dr Tana Joseph, postdoctoral fellow, Astronomy Department, University of Cape Town

Tana Joseph decided to become an astronomer at the age of eleven, after seeing images of astronomical objects taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. She completed her PhD at the University of Southampton in 2013 and also spent time at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Today she is a postdoctoral research fellow working on multiwavelength studies of high energy binary systems. In order to have a more complete understanding of astrophysical objects, information from other regions in the electromagnetic spectrum is required. By combining optical observations with those taken from radio, X-ray, gamma ray or infrared telescopes, more can be learnt about the various physical processes that occur throughout the Universe. This is called multiwavelength astronomy. Southern Africa contains astronomical facilities that allow for observation of the Universe over the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Tana’s lecture will discuss the science of MeerKAT and the SKA, as well as SALT and HESS. It will also elaborate on the increase in X-ray astronomy research in South Africa and show how world class facilities are helping to make southern Africa a leader in astronomical research.

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in the lecture are those of the lecturer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Summer School organisers. These recordings are unedited.

UCT Summer School 2016

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