Mahikeng Astronomical Observatory of the North-West University (MAO)
Officially launched by the Minister of Science and Technology in September 2018, the Mahikeng Astronomical Observatory (MAO) hosts the Mahikeng Astronomical Telescope (MAT), which is a Meade LX200GPS ACF 16-inch (40cm) telescope purchased in 2015. The latest telescope installed at MAO is Leitlho-kgolo (New MAT) which is a 20inch (50 cm) Planewave CDK20 telescope. Attached to this telescope is a wide-field SBIG ALUMA AC4040 CMOS camera with combined field of view of 30 arc min x 30 arc min. Smaller telescopes include the 8-inch Celestron and a 80mm Williams Optics refractor.
The main programme at the MAO is the research on bright pulsating stars. The telescope is capable of detecting milli-magnitude changes in brightness of stars. The MAT is also used for undergraduate and postgraduate physics and astronomy teaching. In 2018, the MAT was used as a teaching tool during the NASSP (National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme) Winter School in Cape Town. About 40% of the telescope time is dedicated to outreach programme, where schools and the public are invited to visit the observatory. The telescope can also be operated in a remote mode via the internet. To access the MAT in the remote mode you need to register with us, and seek permission.
The MAO observing site
The telescope is located on the Mahikeng campus of the North-West University, to the west of the Soccer Institute building. The best period for observations is winter time (April to early September) although dust can be a challenge. In summer the main challenge is the humidity and clouds. There are efforts to quantify the observing conditions at MAO.
The best seeing achieved so far is about 3 arc seconds.
The MAT
The MAT is a modern 40-cm telescope that is computer controlled and capable of very accurate pointing. Stars brighter than 13 magnitude can easily be studied photometrically. Plans to purchase a spectrograph are at an advanced stage of planning. This will enable us to measure radial velocity of bright pulsating stars. The control PC is a mac pro powerful server, and the software is the THESKYX programme of software Bisque.
The MAT is housed in a fibreglass dome that was manufactured outside Durban and motorised and completed at the Instrument-makers of the NWU on the Potchefstroom Campus. We make use of astroimagej software for our data reduction.
Part of the funding of the dome of MAO was provided by the Department of Science and Technology through the National Research Foundation.
For further information contact Prof Medupe or on +27 18 389 2374.