South Africa – A Galactic Centre Of World Class Astronomy
Noseweek|October 2019
Not rocket science.
Sibusiso Biyela
South Africa – A Galactic Centre Of World Class Astronomy

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE MOVIES of all time is the 2014 epic science fiction film Interstellar. In a post-modernist world where I see every piece of media with a cynical eye, the sincerity of that film bowled me over instantly.

The sense of scale, wonder, and sheer beauty of the film captured the feelings I have when I think of the cosmos. From the existential angst I get from seeing images of Saturn, to the dread that comes with realizing the deep time scales that dwarf all of human existence; the film gives me the tingles and keeps my curiosity from going gently into that good night.

I just had that same feeling again recently, not far from me both geographically and in my own work. A few days before writing this, I came across an embargoed press release announcing the discovery of new, balloon-like structures near the center of the Milky Way. These gigantic objects were spotted using South Africa’s new MeerKAT radio telescope.

This story is from the October 2019 edition of Noseweek.

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This story is from the October 2019 edition of Noseweek.

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