Around the middle of 2012, South Africa will finally find out if it is to be the host of one of the most ambitious projects in the history of astronomy. At time of writing, the other country in the running is Australia. One of the two will host the Square Kilometre Array – a massive radio telescope that will make the host country central to 21st-century astronomy.

The SKA will tackle the biggest of questions we face, relating to the universe and how it all began. With 3 000 receptors linked together and a total collecting area of 1 000 square metres, the SKA will have 50 times the sensitivity and 10 000 times the survey speed of the best current-day radio telescopes.