Namibia to host first radio telescope in Africa

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WINDHOEK, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Namibia will become home to the Africa Millimeter Telescope (AMT), which will be the first radio telescope in Africa that is sensitive to millimeter wavelength radiation, the University of Namibia (UNAM) announced on Tuesday.

It is part of a large collaborative project between Radboud University in the Netherlands, the UNAM and various international partners.

The AMT will help shoot better images and videos of the black hole at the center of our galaxy, and enable us to further test our theories on black holes and understand how they generate gigantic amounts of energy, said Heino Falcke, a professor with Radboud University, who is the principal researcher behind the project.

"We can understand astrophysical objects such as black holes better, when we observe them at the same time with different types of telescopes," said Michael Backes, who is with the UNAM and co-principal researcher of the project.

The telescope, which will have a diameter of 15 meters, will be built according to a tried-out design and will be equipped with instruments featuring the most recent technology.

The AMT shall be powered in a sustainable manner, by using solar power, wind energy and possibly hydrogen, said the UNAM. Enditem

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