Both Italy and South Africa have a strong interest in radio astronomy, and invest into the field accordingly. IDIA is a co-organiser of a special workshop on Italy-South Africa Radio Astronomy held on 24-25 October 2018 at the South African National Research Foundation (NRF). This workshop will cover both scientific topics and broader areas related to the investment into a … Read More
We are building a new website for the Institute. While we are doing so, information on this website will be incomplete. Is there something you cannot find? Get in touch! Email us at communications@idia.ac.za. You can also reach us on our twitter account @Big_IDIA. Thank you for your patience. In the meantime, here are existing websites on the IDIA domain: MIGHTEE: … Read More
IDIA was privileged to have Associate Professor Ishwara Chandra from the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) in Pune, India as a sabbatical visitor for one year. In a warm send-off the the UCT Astronomy department on September 20, Prof. Russ Taylor mentioned how Prof. Chandra’s research contributed to the group’s deep imaging efforts, and thanked Prof. Chandra for his many … Read More
Last week saw the DARA Big Data Africa School 2018 take place in a scenic mountainside resort near Cape Town, South Africa. 27 young scientists, most of them master’s students in fields as diverse as mechanical engineering or physics attended the school, part of the Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) Big Data programme, a joint initiative between the … Read More
The week of 10 – 17 September 2018 sees the 2nd Big Data Africa school take place near Cape Town. Organised by SARAO as part of the Newton Fund‘s DARA Big Data project, the school brings 27 students from 8 African countries together with lecturers, local and international, to take part in an intense, hands-in academic school where they get first … Read More
Members of the public were welcome to an Open Night at the SAAO in Cape Town on 8 September 2018, at 20h00. Professor Russ Taylor presented a talk titled “The Square Kilometre Array: Big Telescope, Big Science, Big Data”. This was be followed by a tour of the site and star gazing. Summary of the talk The Square Kilometre Array … Read More
The proceedings of a scientific workshop focusing on the science to be carried out with the MeerKAT telescope have been published into a book. The opus, entitled,”MeerKAT Science: On the Pathway to the SKA” is available through IDIA. In 2016, the Principal Investigators of the MeerKAT Large Survey Projects who have been awarded the lion’s share of the telescope’s first … Read More
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) last week awarded Associate Director of the Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA), Associate Professor Carolina Ödman, a special prize for her pioneering work in astronomy outreach, development and education. This award was given as part of the IAU XXX (30th) General Assembly, which took place in VIenna, Austria in the last two weeks of … Read More
South Africa has won the bid to host the 2024 General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It will be the first time this assembly is held on African soil in what will be the 105th year of existence of this prestigious global association of professional astronomers. The decision was announced by the newly elected President of the IAU, … Read More
On July 23 2018, we invited members of the media and of the astronomy community to an event at the Iziko Planetarium and Digital Dome to celebrate the IDIA Research Cloud. The event consisted of an introduction, a show and a panel discussion followed by refreshments. The show itself featured previously unseen and unpublished astronomical images from the MIGHTEE experiment on MeerKAT and from the MeerLICHT telescope, overlaid … Read More
