Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO)

Satellite dishes and control room Hartbeeshoek Just outside our municipal boundary is the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) located in a valley in the Magaliesberg hills, 50 km north-west of Johannesburg, in the province of Gauteng.

The Observatory began as Deep Space Station 51, and was built in 1961 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States of America.

HartRAO operates:

A 26m radio telescope for astronomy and geodesy
A 15m radio telescope for astronomy and geodesy
A Satellite Laser Ranger (SLR) for geodesy
A Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers for GPS, GLONASS and Galileo, at HartRAO and at other locations, for geodesy

Students at Hartbeeshoek Students and staff from universities carry out practical, projects and research at Hartebeesthoek, and school, public and group visits to the observatory are used to raise the awareness and understanding of astronomy, science and technology.

Teacher workshops are also run in all the northern provinces of the country. These are designed to assist teachers in understanding and presenting astronomy-related topics in the current school curriculum.

Their website is extremely informative however there is nothing like the real thing, and there is no doubt that a visit to the facility will pique the interest of our budding scientists as well as the inquisitive adult.

Enquiries:
E-mail: info@hartrao.ac.za
Telephone: +27 12 301 3100 fax: +27 12 301 3300
Postal Address: HartRAO, PO Box 443, Krugersdorp 1740, South Africa.
World Wide Web: http://www.hartrao.ac.za

Getting There: At Broederstroom turn right onto the R 400 which is the “Hartbeeshoek” road. After 18 km on the tarred road you will see the SANSA / HartRAO entrance on the right-hand side at the 34 km marker. There are signs “Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory” and “HartRAO” behind the fence to the left of the entrance, and “SANSA” to the right of the entrance.