The MeerKAT First Light image of the radio sky, released by Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor at the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) African core site outside Carnarvon in the Northern Cape, shows unambiguously that the MeerKAT Array Release 1 (AR1) has joined the ranks of the world's great scientific instruments.

The new image, taken by the 16-dish AR1 MeerKAT in a small patch of sky covering less than 0,01 per cent of the entire celestial sphere, shows more than 1 300 radio galaxies in the distant universe. This is compared to 70 in the previous best image.

The results, presented to Minister Pandor by Dr Fernando Camilo, SKA Chief Scientist, show that the MeerKAT is already the best radio telescope in the Southern Hemisphere. By the end of 2017, when it has all 64 of its dishes, it should be the world’s best telescope of its kind.

Minister Pandor hosted Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Economic Development and member of the Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Commission (PICC), and 21 deputy ministers from various government departments at the SKA site. Infrastructure investment is a key priority of both the National Development Plan and the New Growth Path. The SKA is one of 18 strategic infrastructure projects identified by the PICC.

The MeerKAT will be an integral part of the SKA Phase 1. In 2012 it was decided that the MeerKAT would be part of the sensitive SKA Phase 1 dish array. The SKA will be the most sensitive radio telescope in the world.

The launch of the MeerKAT AR1 and its first results are a significant milestone for South Africa as it celebrates the new era of scientific progress after the dawn of democracy and freedom.

Speaking at the unveiling, Minister Pandor said the scientific promise of MeerKAT was receiving worldwide interest and was now within reach.

"It is a testament to the dedicated work of hundreds of engineers, scientists, managers and other staff, and South African and international industrial partners, as well as the support of the government and people of South Africa for more than a decade," the Minister said.

"SKA will translate innovation and development activities into economic benefits through commercialisation, technology localisation and human capital development," the Minister added.

Dr Rob Adam, Project Director of SKA South Africa, said the launch of MeerKAT AR1 and its first results was a significant milestone for South Africa.

“Through MeerKAT, South Africa is playing a key role in the design and development of technology for the SKA. The South African team of more than 200 young scientists, engineers and technicians, in collaboration with industry, local and foreign universities and institutions, has developed the technologies and systems for MeerKAT," said Dr Adam.

These include cutting edge telescope antennas and receivers, signal processing, timing, telescope management, computing and data storage systems, and algorithms for data processing.

“Based on the results being shown today, we are confident that after all 64 dishes are in place, MeerKAT will be the world's leading telescope of its kind until the advent of SKA," according to Professor Justin Jonas, SKA South Africa Chief Technologist.

The site chosen near Carnarvon in the Karoo for the location of the MeerKAT and SKA telescopes provides unique opportunities for other radio astronomy installations, mainly because of minimal radio frequency interference, but also because of the extensive infrastructure developments taking place on the site.

Attracted by these advantages, the University of California at Berkeley, the US National Radio Astronomy Observatory, several other US universities, and the University of Cambridge are working with SKA South Africa to invest US$20 million in establishing a new low-frequency radio telescope on the SKA site.

Their decision to invest was informed by both South Africa’s commitment to preserving the site for radio astronomy through the Astronomy Geographic Advantage Act of 2007, and by the local scientific, technical and engineering competence that has been developed around the MeerKAT and SKA projects.

This telescope, Hydrogen Epoch of Re-ionization Array, has the potential to deliver Nobel Prize-winning science. It is being built by local people using locally sourced materials, providing employment for South African engineers, artisans and construction workers during building. South African scientists are also fully involved in the research that will be using this telescope.

The SKA will be built in two phases – SKA1 and SKA2 – starting in 2018. SKA1 will include two components – SKA1 MID (to be built in South Africa) and SKA1 LOW (to be built in Australia). They will observe the universe at different radio frequencies.