hundreds of delicate cobweb structures make up the HERA telescope

at first glance, SKA africa’s HERA telescope may look like hundreds of overturned lace umbrellas, casting cobweb-like shadows onto the desert sand beneath them. however, each carefully structured dish is in fact an antenna, specifically designed to detect a certain wavelength of light given off by hydrogen atoms as they form stars. such lightwaves are emitted during a time frame referred to as the ‘epoch of reionisation,’ that astrologists believe to have occured about 400 million years after the big bang. by picking up these waves of light, scientists will be able to understand the formation and evolution of the very first stars and galaxies in our universe, that came about more than 13.7 billion years ago.

photograph courtesy of danny jacobs

initially, the artistic looking HERA telescope consisted of just 19 antennas, and the project has grown to the 240 delicate dishes present today. due to a recent grant of 5.8 million dollars, the project will now expand to 350 umbrella-esque antennae spanning 610 square feet through SKA’s south african karoo astronomy reserve. the telescope’s minimalist design makes it a relatively inexpensive structure, and all of the materials needed for the build have been sourced locally withen south africa, with most of the bulk materials being sourced from the karoo region.

photograph courtesy of josh dillon

the delicate-looking telescope is designed to detect low-frequency radio waves. these are emitted everywhere in the sky and provide insight into changes in X-rays and UV radiation from a neutral hydrogen gas, that was found in the universe even before stars and galaxies were formed. radiation occurs when a new star is formed, so the findings will be able to inform astrologists further about which of the thousands of stars we currently see came about first.

photograph courtesy of danny jacobs

the expansions to the project are set to be complete in september 2019, and will see the involvement of local karoo residents in the construction, with five residents working as team leads to train new team members. dr rob ada, managing director of SKA south africa, the company behind the HERA telescope, explains that ‘SKA SA remains committed in ensuring that local communities and businesses benefit from the construction of radio telescopes in the karoo and HERA is a fine example of that.’

photograph courtesy of danny jacobs

photograph courtesy of danny jacobs

photograph courtesy of danny jacobs

photograph courtesy of danny jacobs

photograph courtesy of danny jacobs