Sarah Buchner, the science operations lead at the SA MeerKAT Radio Telescope, will be the guest speaker at a public lecture hosted by the Franschhoek Theatre and SmallTalX next Wednesday (29 November).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Members of the public interested in astronomy and physics will be treated to a discussion of how MeerKAT is used to observe pulsars (magnetised rotating neutron stars) and search for evidence of gravitational waves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Buchner has extensive experience in astronomy, having managed Antarctic observation projects, in addition to roles at the HartRAO and MeerKAT telescopes in the Karoo. Her current work involves the scheduling of scientific work at the MeerKAT site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
MeerKAT serves as an early phase of the upcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The site is based in the Meerkat National Park in the Karoo, and features 64 radio antennae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past five years, scientists have used the MeerKAT equipment to make some remarkable discoveries. In 2019, giant radio bubbles at the centre of the Milky Way were discovered, having been emitted by our central supermassive black hole several million years ago. Two years later, a joint Italian-German team discovered eight new pulsars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pulsars emit radio beams as they rotate, much like a lighthouse emitting beams of light at a set rate. The radio beams can be observed by the MeerKAT dishes. The eight newly discovered \u201cmillisecond pulsars\u201d rotate around 700 times per second. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A typical neutron star has a mass many times that of the Earth, but extremely dense, being compressed to a diameter of only around 24 km. They, therefore, provide an opportunity to study fundamental physical processes in action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, a chance observation of radio signals from a so-called \u201cneutron star graveyard\u201d led to the discovery of a pulsar with an abnormally long rotation period of 76 seconds \u2013 a unique discovery that couldn\u2019t have been made without the pioneering technological equipment in the Karoo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The talk takes place at the Franschhoek Theatre at 18:30. Tickets cost R250, and include a glass of wine, snacks, and an answer-and-question session with Buchner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bookings are essential, and can be made online at www.franschhoektheatre.co.za, or by sending an email to hello@franschhoektheatre.co.za. Direct all queries to Leila Shirley on 067 314 4059.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sarah Buchner, the science operations lead at the SA MeerKAT Radio Telescope, will be the guest speaker at a public lecture hosted by the Franschhoek Theatre and SmallTalX next Wednesday (29 November).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":47539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"6cad3f2f-44b0-4546-bfc6-faa4b91ffd23","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-47537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/314f8bd08ee644488bf6f470224c5997.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46645,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/learn-more-about-snakes-at-public-talk-in-franschhoek-20240215\/","url_meta":{"origin":47537,"position":0},"title":"Learn more about snakes at public talk in Franschhoek","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"15 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Local reptile expert Tyrone Ping will present a public talk about the snakes and reptiles of Franschhoek at the Franschhoek Theatre on Wednesday 28 February.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/fdd88d3884c24ebea324c3efd42fe270.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/fdd88d3884c24ebea324c3efd42fe270.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/fdd88d3884c24ebea324c3efd42fe270.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/fdd88d3884c24ebea324c3efd42fe270.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43063,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/chelsea-flower-show-gold-medallist-to-speak-on-sa-wildflowers-at-franschhoek-theatre-20241024\/","url_meta":{"origin":47537,"position":1},"title":"Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist to speak on SA wildflowers at Franschhoek Theatre","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"25 October 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Leon Kluge, the multi-award-winning landscaper and internationally acclaimed horticulturist, will present a talk at the Franschhoek Theatre on Wednesday 30 October.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9d470e0da76642199b0beae653975549.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9d470e0da76642199b0beae653975549.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9d470e0da76642199b0beae653975549.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9d470e0da76642199b0beae653975549.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46038,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/super-ai-talk-to-be-held-in-franschhoek-20240328\/","url_meta":{"origin":47537,"position":2},"title":"Super-AI talk to be held in Franschhoek","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"28 March 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Prof Bruce Bassett of the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town will present a talk on the future of artificial super-intelligence at the Franschhoek Theatre on Wednesday 3 April.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/8d093c5db6e444898aebc3553918a1f7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":44302,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/expert-unpacks-rome-in-franschhoek-20240725\/","url_meta":{"origin":47537,"position":3},"title":"Expert unpacks Rome in Franschhoek","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"25 July 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Franschhoek Theatre, in collaboration with SmallTalX, will host a talk by Dr Ursula Westwood from Stellenbosch University\u2019s Department of Ancient Studies on propaganda in ancient Rome on Wednesday 31 July.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f6c9ba105386440b936f18efb7f275d4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f6c9ba105386440b936f18efb7f275d4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f6c9ba105386440b936f18efb7f275d4.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f6c9ba105386440b936f18efb7f275d4.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45723,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/politico-to-discuss-elections-in-franschhoek-20240418\/","url_meta":{"origin":47537,"position":4},"title":"Politico to discuss elections in Franschhoek","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"18 April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Political commentator and author John Matisonn will discuss the upcoming 2024 South African national elections at a public event in Franschhoek on Wednesday 24 April.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/622ce42982bf46eaa52e18abbd1e3fee.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":41983,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/verken-so-die-karoo-se-geheime-te-voet-20250226-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":47537,"position":5},"title":"Verken s\u00f3 die Karoo se geheime te voet","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"27 February 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Mense wat op soek is na \u2019n avontuur, word genooi om in te skryf vir die Camino van die Sandsteenkerke, wat van Vrydag 25 April tot Vrydag 2 Mei in die Klein Karoo plaasvind.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Eikestadnuus","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47537"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=47537"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=47537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}