Mysteries of Universe in Focus for South African Mega Telescope

People look at South Africa's prototype dish of the Square Kilometre Array-Mid telescope outside the town of Carnarvon, with a similar ceremony taking place in SKA co-host Australia on the same day, South Africa on Dec. 5, 2022. Esa Alexander/Reuters

CARNARVON, South Africa—South African officials and scientists on Monday celebrated a milestone towards building the world’s largest radio astronomy instrument, which is co-hosted with Australia and aims to unlock mysteries of the universe.

The construction launch outside the remote town of Carnarvon, Northern Cape, marks the next phase of developing a complex instrument aimed at revealing events since the cosmic dawn, when the first stars and galaxies were formed.