MeerKAT and the SARAO MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Galactic Plane Survey

I will describe the SKA precursor telescope MeerKAT and some of its recent results, concentrating on the largest and deepest Galactic Plane survey carried out with MeerKAT, the SARAO MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Galactic Plane Survey (SMGPS). SMGPS is revolutionising the study of Galactic radio populations and has resulted in the discovery of many new Supernova Remnants, planetary nebular, and a novel population of non-thermal radio filaments in the Galactic Plane. I will also look forward to potential upgrades to MeerKAT and the kinds of surveys that will be possible with the Square Kilometre Array.

Speaker: 
Mark Thompson (University of Leeds)
Place: 
KIAA-auditorium
Time: 
Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 3:30PM to Thursday, April 24, 2025 - 4:30PM
Biography: 
Mark started out his studies with a BSc in Astronomy and Astrophysics and an MSc in Electronics at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK) from 1990-1994. After working as a software engineer he passed his PhD in Millimetre Wave Astronomy at the University of Kent (UK) in 1999 where he worked as a postdoc for the following 5 years. Mark became a lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) in 2004, eventually becoming Dean of the School of Physics Astronomy and Mathematics in 2015 and Professor Astrophysics in 2019. In 2021 Mark joined the University of Leeds (UK) as their new Head of the School of Physics and Astronomy, where he is now the Head of the Astrophysics Research Group. Mark’s main research interests are in massive star formation and Galactic Plane surveys. He works mainly in the far-infrared to radio wavelength ranges and has been closely involved in most of the major Galactic Plane surveys, e.g. with Herschel, the JCMT, JVLA and MeerKAT. His most recent survey project is the SARAO MeerKAT 1.3 GHz Galactic Plane survey, the most sensitive radio survey of the Galactic Plane yet carried out.