Abstract
The South African Astronomical Observatory is the national observatory for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It has its headquarters in Cape Town and the main telescopes are located at the Sutherland site about 250 km north–east of Cape Town. The facilities include four telescopes ranging from 1.9 m to 0.5 m and are instrumented for optical spectroscopy, CCD imaging, infrared imaging, and optical and infrared photometry. The research carried out with these facilities covers a wide range of stellar and galactic research, with special emphasis on the Magellanic Clouds, the structure of our own Galaxy, pulsating stars, the distance scale, support of space observatory research, and international campaigns. The future development of optical/infrared astronomy in southern Africa is discussed. In particular, the unique contribution that can be made by a southern hemisphere observatory located on the African continent is stressed. Finally we comment on aspects of international collaboration and the educational importance of astronomy.
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