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Close encounters of the planetary kind

28 January 2021 | Story Igno van Niekerk | Photo Supplied

conjunction_web read more — Pictured from the left: Lucas Erasmus from the Department of Physics, Piet le Roux from the Astronomical Society of SA – Bloemfontein, Quinton Kaplan from the Department of Physics, Thinus van der Merwe from the Astronomical Society of SA – Bloemfontein. Front: Prof Matie Hoffman

In his book, The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman mentions how at first countries, then companies, and eventually communities went global. In true flat-world fashion, a combined team of the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Astronomical Society of South Africa – led by Prof Matie Hoffman, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics – participated in a once-in-a-lifetime event with their counterparts from the Ellinogermaniki Agogi School and the Skinakas Observatory in Greece.

On 21 December 2020, Earth was treated to the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, when the two planets were only 0.1 degrees apart in the sky. Although conjunctions are regular phenomena, NASA mentions that the great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 2020 was the closest since 1623 and the closest observable since 1226! A pinkie finger at arm’s length could cover both planets – although they were still millions of kilometres apart in space.

Planning started months ahead of the event, with the Ellinogermaniki Agogi Observatory in Greece and the Boyden Observatory in Bloemfontein chosen as the two selected vantage points. From both the Southern and Northern Hemisphere, the conjunction would be broadcast live on YouTube. As with any other technical project on an international scale, challenges arose. For example, in the Northern Hemisphere, it was already dark at 17:45 while the South African astronomers were still basking in sunlight until after 19:00. The conjunction would only be visible from South Africa after 19:30, almost two hours after it would be visible in Athens. The time was well used, with the event including a word of welcome by the Consul General of Greece in South Africa, Ioannis Chatzantonakis, presentations on Saturn and Jupiter, as well as a virtual tour of the Boyden Observatory, emphasising its connection with Greece through its first Director, Stefanos Paraskevopoulos.

On Saturday, 19 December, the teams ‘gathered’ on opposite sides of planet Earth to do a dry run. One could sense the urgency and tension as both teams realised that they would have a huge captive audience on YouTube, and plans had to be made in case of connectivity challenges and if the weather did not allow the conjunction. As preparations progressed, Prof Hoffman was talking to his Greek counterparts and was simultaneously walking around with his laptop to share the landscape and activities via his webcam with colleagues in Greece.

Monday 21 December 2020 – the weather prediction was correct. Clouds covered the Free State sky and scattered raindrops started to fall. Revert to Plan B. A recording made on Saturday evening was shared via the YouTube link, while a live feed of the conjunction from elsewhere in South Africa was arranged. From both sides of the world, information was shared about the history of the venues, as well as the marvel of what was happening in space. Fortunately, expert planetary photographer Clyde Foster was able to share a live feed just after 19:30 from the observatory at his home in Centurion, Gauteng. Those attending the event where visuals and speakers were together on one screen – yet thousands of kilometres apart – watching an event in outer space, will indeed agree with Thomas Friedman: the world is flat. The live-stream event of the conjunction was a catalyst that will result in continued collaboration between the UFS and colleagues in Greece in the field of astronomy.

By the time of this writing, the livestream has reached more than 50 000 people.

Watch: Coverage of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction here

News Archive

Ford foundation funds higher education redesign

2005-06-23

The Ford Foundation has pledged a grant of almost R280 000 for redesigning higher education delivery at three campuses in the Free State.

According to Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the University of the Free State (UFS), the three campuses that will be affected by the strategic reconfiguration of higher education delivery are the Qwaqwa campus at Phuthaditjhaba and the Vista campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein and the Welkom campus of the Central University of Technology (CUT).

Prof Fourie says the three campuses were all affected by the restructuring of higher education, in line with the National Plan for Higher Education.

The Qwaqwa campus of the UFS that was part of the former University of the North was incorporated into the UFS in January 2003. Likewise the Bloemfontein campus of the former Vista University was incorporated into the UFS in January 2004.

The Welkom campus of the CUT was also part of the former Vista University and was incorporated into the CUT in January 2004.

“These incorporations pose a challenge in that we have to think creatively about the best ways of using these three campuses to service the higher education, training, skills development and human resource needs of the Free State,” Prof Fourie said.

“The grant from the Ford Foundation will primarily be used to draw up strategic funding proposals for the three campuses. The Qwaqwa campus of the UFS is a priority to us given the poverty and unemployment in a largely rural area of the Free State,” said Prof Fourie.

“A detailed consultation process will be undertaken in the Qwaqwa campus sub-region which will hopefully result in a comprehensive and a coherent suite of higher education activities being established on this campus,” said Prof Fourie.

“It is envisaged that the Qwaqwa campus will become a centre of excellence in the area of rural development. This vision is based on a focused integration of the core functions of a university – teaching, research, and community service – around the issue of rural development,” said Prof Fourie.

Prof Fourie said that various educational offerings including among others short courses, bridging and foundation programmes, and degrees could be offered, with a particular focus on providing courses of relevance to students from the local rural community and students from elsewhere with an interest in focusing on rural development studies.

She said the redesign of the three affected campuses is being managed as a project of the Free State Higher Education Consortium (FSHEC) consisting of all the higher education institutions operating in the Free State.

“The aim of the project is to establish how the Qwaqwa and Vista campuses of the UFS and the Welkom campus of the CUT can be used effectively to meet regional education and training needs, to serve the strategic priorities of the two higher education institutions and contribute to the sustainable development and poverty alleviation of the region,” she said.

The planning for the Vista campus of the UFS is still in an early stage. “We are looking at the possibility of developing this campus into a hub of education and training opportunities for Bloemfontein and Free State region. Further plans will be communicated later in the year,” said Prof Fourie.

Media release

Issued by:  Lacea Loader
   Media Representative
   Tel: (051) 401-2584
   Cell: 083 645 2454
   E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

23 June 2005

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