South African Astronomical Observatory

South African Astronomical Observatory

The Sutherland site of the South African Astronomical Observatory. With the Southern African Large Telescope
Alternative names	SAAO
Organization	National Research Foundation of South Africa
Observatory code	51, B31, A60, L66
Location	Headquarters in Observatory, Cape Town Major telescopes in Sutherland, Northern Cape
Coordinates	Headquarters: 33°56′05″S 18°28′39″E / 33.9347°S 18.4776°E / -33.9347; 18.4776 Sutherland: 32°22′42″S 20°48′38″E / 32.3783°S 20.8105°E / -32.3783; 20.8105
Established	20 October 1820; 204 years ago (1820-10-20) - As the Royal Observatory Cape of Good Hope 1972; 52 years ago (1972) - As the South African Astronomical Observatory [1]
Website	saao.ac.za
Telescopes
SALT 11m reflector 1.9m 1.9m reflector Infrared Survey Facility 1.4m reflector MONET 1.2m reflector 1.0m 1m reflector SuperWASP-South 8x Canon 200mm f/1.8 ACT 75 cm reflector Solaris-1 0.5m f/15 Ritchey–Chrétien Solaris-1 0.5m f/15 Ritchey–Chrétien MeerLICHT 0.6m f/5.5 modified Dall-Kirkham telescope
Location of South African Astronomical Observatory
Related media on Commons
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The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's function is to conduct research in astronomy and astrophysics. The primary telescopes are located in Sutherland, which is 370 kilometres (230 mi) from Observatory, Cape Town, where the headquarters is located.^[2]

The SAAO has links worldwide for scientific and technological collaboration. Instrumental contributions from the South African Astronomical Observatory include the development of a spherical aberration corrector and the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT).

The Noon Gun on Cape Town's Signal Hill is fired remotely by a time signal from the Observatory.