Workers help to guide the dome for an optic telescope into place at an astronomers' laboratory in Entoto, a mountain on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Oct. 24, 2013. (Photo: Jacey Fortin)
By Jacey Fortin
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — If you’re in Africa and want to get a good look at the reaches of outer space, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better vantage point than the top of Entoto, a mountain on the outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital city of Addis Ababa. Up there, 10,499 feet (3,200 meters) above sea level, the air is thin and cloud cover is minimal for most of the year. Stargazers’ annoyances — tall buildings, street lamps and bright car headlights — are virtually nonexistent.
It’s prime real estate for the Ethiopian Space Science Society, which is building an observatory on Entoto that will feature two massive optical telescopes. The project will bring this East African country one step closer to developing a formal space program.
Thursday marked the installation of a silver dome that will house one of the two telescopes. A towering crane hoisted the dome from the ground, and workers secured it atop a small concrete building. The cavity where the telescope is meant to sit remains empty — but not for long. Scientists at the facility expect both telescopes to be delivered and begin functioning within a matter of weeks.
Read more at ibtimes.com.
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