MeerKAT

<p>MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a <a href="/facts/Radio_telescope/SxIXUowL">radio telescope</a> consisting of 64 antennas in the <a href="/facts/Meerkat_National_Park/Da9XMQ0H">Meerkat National Park</a>, in the <a href="/facts/Northern_Cape/5qcgbAzV">Northern Cape</a> of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the <a href="/facts/Square_Kilometre_Array/kU3LueER">Square Kilometre Array</a> (SKA) Radio Telescope in Africa, and the locally designed and built MeerKAT was incorporated into the first phase of the SKA. MeerKAT was launched in 2018. MeerKAT is located inside a <a href="/facts/Radio_quiet_zone/v0IerveW">radio quiet zone</a> within the park.
</p><p>Along with the <a href="/facts/Hydrogen_Epoch_of_Reionization_Array/tW3DKTud">Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array</a> (HERA), also in South Africa, and two <a href="/facts/Radio_telescope/SxIXUowL">radio telescopes</a> in <a href="/facts/Western_Australia/1ouCbwNh">Western Australia</a>, the <a href="/facts/Australian_SKA_Pathfinder/N1Qe8EKX">Australian SKA Pathfinder</a> (ASKAP) and the <a href="/facts/Murchison_Widefield_Array/5PBxJmVT">Murchison Widefield Array</a> (MWA), the MeerKAT is one of four precursors to the final SKA.
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MeerKAT open-in-new

MeerKAT