Namibia may host southern part of new gamma-ray telescope

Science: Potential sites for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA)—a ground-based gamma-ray observatory—were evaluated at a recent general meeting in Warsaw, Poland. The CTA will comprise 120 telescopes divided between two sites, one in the Northern Hemisphere and one in the Southern Hemisphere. Among the project’s goals are to determine the origins of cosmic rays and the nature of dark matter. Namibia was selected as the best candidate to host the southern array. Criteria included elevation, local geomagnetic field, darkness of the night sky, atmospheric aerosol content, and the number of hours each year with suitable observing conditions. The other two countries vying for the southern array are Argentina and Chile. Three countries are also seeking to host the northern array: Mexico, Spain, and the US. Further evaluations will be made in the coming months, with the final decision due by 2014.