Sutherland trip viii - Big Brothers

Posted by dobbino (Cape Town, South Africa) on 29 July 2009 in Miscellaneous and Portfolio.

Well - they may not be watching us, but no-one out there will get away with anything!

This is the view as one takes the road from the SALT observatory to the top of the hill. It's approximately 1,770 metres above sea level (more than 200 metres higher than the town of Sutherland), and it is so far away from the general areas of light pollution from towns and cities that a number of telescopes from various countries are hosted here. In addition to the ones owned by South Africa, there are observatories owned by the United Kingdom (2), Japan, Germany, and Korea. The SALT telescope (not shown here) is a joint initiative, with South Africa, Germany, India, New Zealand, Poland, the UK, and the US all being stakeholders.

To me this looks a bit like a scene from a James Bond movie.

BTW - this is all that is at the top of the hill - just Karoo bush, basic roads, and the observatories. The offices of the South African Astonomical Observatory, plus some residential quarters for staff are located about one kilometre away.

All comments, and especially constructive criticism is truly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time.

All images © Rob Minter, and licensed in terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 South Africa License

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Comments (10)

Nicholas from Shah Alam, Malaysia

Wonder if I can put my telescope there? :P

29 Jul 2009 6:06am

@Nicholas: They are really friendly folk - it's worth an ask :)

Anina from Auckland, New Zealand

Great shot!
Love the clear, blue sky!

29 Jul 2009 6:07am

grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom

Wonderfully bizarre landscape and what an intense blue sky.
It shows you why.
Now how about 'All of us are living in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars'?
Did you stargaze?

29 Jul 2009 10:04am

@grouser: Yes we did, though at zero degrees the telescope was icing over (and only one of the two available was out of order), so that was not of major interest. What was, though, was just looking at the unbelievably brilliant sky. There were so many stars visible that it was actually difficult to even make out the Southern Cross, which is one of the more easily visible constellations in the city areas. It's a sight that will stay with me till I leave this planet!

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

Fantastic contrast here, and the Light oh that beautiful Light....

29 Jul 2009 3:42pm

@Lorraine: Thanks Lorraine (and for your lovely comment yesterday :) & lol!). The clear sky was even more of a highlight at night!

Graham Russon from Cape Town, South Africa

Fantastic shot and fascinating journey you are taking us on.

29 Jul 2009 7:02pm

@Graham Russon: Thanks Graham - it's a trip worth considering, especially for your kids. I promise you they will never forget what those skies look like at night! We spent too much time there, as apart from the observatories, unless you have a 4x4, there's not a lot to see. So one can go up in the morning, get there for the 14h30 day tour, go back later for the 18h00 tour (in winter - it's a bit later in summer) to see the skies and some of the stars and planets through the telescopes, spend the night, and then drive back the next day. One way trip about three and a half hours.

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

This is such a cool shot Rob! I get a real "Road Warrior" futuristic feel...the brightness of the steel against the blue sky and barron landscape is riviting!

29 Jul 2009 8:03pm

Roman from Thunder Bay, Canada

I'm just with you Rob, what a thrilling journey !!! I always love you commentary... just Karoo bush, basic roads, and the observatories....
you know, for some of us, Karoo bush is so romantic... !!!

cheers
Roman

30 Jul 2009 2:17am