Featured Research: Science

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Zoom-in to the heart of M87 to see a new view of its black hole.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration – which produced the first-ever image of a black hole and of which the University of Pretoria (UP) is an associate institute – has revealed a new view of the massive object at the centre of the M87 galaxy: what it looks like in polarised light.

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UP part of global team that reveals behaviour of magnetic fields around black holes

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration – which produced the first-ever image of a black hole and of which the University of Pretoria (UP) is an associate institute – has revealed a new view of the massive object at the centre of the M87 galaxy: what it looks like in polarized light.

Infographic

Lightning Facts

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...

Gallery

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...

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.

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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.