Searching African Skies: The square kilometre array and South Africa’s quest to hear the songs of the stars

In the era of technological advancement astronomers want to build the most powerful telescope ever, to see back to before the first stars and galaxies formed. The SKA will be a radio telescope – instead of seeing light waves, it will make pictures from radio waves. Sarah Wild’s Searching African Skies is the story of South African radio astronomy and the quest to hear the songs of the stars. What, exactly, is the Square Kilometre Array? How did South Africa end up bidding against Australia to host the largest scientific instrument on Earth? What does it hope to find in outer space? Are we alone in the universe? Will we be able to see as far back as the big bang? And can a developing country justify building a massive radio telescope at the expense of housing, healthcare and meeting basic needs? Jacana presents the book that shall answer these questions.