African astronomers hope to recycle discarded satellite dishes as radiotelescopes

Science : South Africa is competing with Australia for the proposed Square Kilometer Array radiotelescope, an array of hundreds of dishes spread over thousands of kilometers. Hence, South African astronomers are looking at converting old telecommunications dishes into radiotelescopes to produce a low-cost array that would span the continent, writes Daniel Clery for Science. Across Africa, the 30-meter satellite dishes that were once the backbone of the continent’s communications are being replaced by fiber-optic cables. The astronomers have already developed political links with other African nations and hope to set up a couple of prototypesperhaps in Ghana and South Africa itselfto encourage other governments to fund conversion of dishes within their boundaries.