Featured Research: Science

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Lighting up the sky

There is a common misconception that most lightning victims are struck directly by a “bolt” of lightning from the sky. But according to Professor Ryan Blumenthal, a senior specialist forensic pathologist at the University of Pretoria, less than 5% of victims are struck by the lightning flash itself;– most lighting-related deaths and injuries occur as a result of other lightning attachment...

Photo

UP researchers solve for cosmic 'X' using South Africa's MeerKAT telescope

A team of astronomers from South Africa and the USA has used the MeerKAT telescope to solve a longstanding puzzle in ‘X’-shaped radio galaxies by observing a galaxy called PKS 2014-55 that’s situated 800 million light years away from Earth.

Story

UP part of team that solves mystery of X-shaped radio galaxies with meerKAT telescope

A team of astronomers from South Africa and the USA has used the MeerKAT telescope to solve a longstanding puzzle in ‘X’-shaped radio galaxies by observing a galaxy called PKS 2014-55 that’s situated 800 million light years away from Earth.

Talking Point

ANALYSIS: Investing in research is South Africa’s best insurance policy against crises

As the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads around the world, causing the disease COVID-19, it is becoming ever clearer that the solutions to this pandemic will all be based on research.

Lecture

'Imaging Black Holes With An Earth-Sized Telescope'

On 10 April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration revealed the first image of a black hole. This required a large international effort by over 200 scientists spread across five continents.

The team uses a technique called radio interferometry, synthesising a virtual telescope with the effective diameter of the Earth. By using antennas with separations on inter-continental scales,...

Story

UP astrophysicist part of team that won 2020 Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics

University of Pretoria (UP) astrophysicist, Professor Roger Deane is a part of a consortium of scientists that has won the prestigious 2020 Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics, for giving the world the first image of a black hole in April this year.