MeerKAT is a connected array of radio telescopes located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, and is a precursor instrument to the mid-frequency component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). The 64 dishes are 13.5 m in diameter, with maximum separations of 8 km. The received signals travel to a subterranean processor building that combines them and allows the telescopes to work together as a single instrument.

The extremely high instantaneous sensitivity, wide field of view, and unprecedented imaging capabilities, make MeerKAT a uniquely powerful radio survey telescope. These capabilities are reflected in the data rates associated with the machine, with digitised signals from the dishes entering the processor building at a rate of 2.2 terabits per second, and data flowing out of that building and into the hands of astronomers at rates of up to 2.5 terabytes per hour.

Oxford Astrophysics has close and long-standing ties to this project and the South African (radio) astronomy community, and we have leading roles in both the commissioning and scientific use of MeerKAT, including several of its flagship Large Survey Projects (LSPs). Our research using MeerKAT ties directly into several of the main research themes of Oxford Astrophysics, and our scientific and technical work is directly informing the corresponding aspects of the SKA.