Anthony L. Hall is a descendant of the Turks & Caicos Islands, international lawyer and political consultant - headquartered in Washington DC - who publishes his own Internet Weblog at www.theipinionsjournal.com offering commentaries on current events from a Caribbean perspective

This good-news event was the 10 November 2005 unveiling of the South African Large Telescope (SALT) by a superstar amongst world leaders – South African President Thabo Mbeki. The SALT is the “largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere” and – as the Post reported – will allow us to see 13 billion years back in time.   It was built by an international consortium of universities and government agencies lead by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. And, its intergalactic window to the night skies of this hemisphere should inspire pilgrimages to South Africa by star gazers and star trekkers from all over the world to experience unprecedented forays back and forth throughout space and time.

Indeed, the truly remarkable feat of the SALT is that - from its (terrestrial) position on earth (in the Northern Cape) - it gives us a direct view of celestial images and formations that rival the wonder and majesty of anything the American Hubble space telescope has beamed back to us from its (extraterrestrial)  position in the sky.  For the more astronomically inclined, however, President Mbeki himself promised that the SALT will answer such fundamental questions as:

• What was the universe like when the first stars and galaxies were forming? [Indeed, the origin of the universe]
• What kind of worlds orbits other suns?
• How are the stars in nearby galaxies different from those in the solar neighbourhood?
• What can these stars tell us about the scale and age of the universe?
• How do quasars and gamma rays outshine trillions of stars like the sun?

The SALT clearly demonstrates the world-class ingenuity and capability of South African scientists. And, it shall stand as a beacon and serve as a clarion call for children not only in Africa but also throughout the Caribbean to pursue an education in science and engineering.

Therefore, here’s to South Africa for taking this giant leap forward that is as significant in mankind’s quest to discover stars and galaxies beyond the Milky Way as man’s first step on the moon. (In fact, the digital SALTICAM is so powerful that it “can detect objects as faint as a candle flame [and certainly that languishing American flag] on the moon.”)