Astronomy and astrophysics has a great legacy in New Zealand, with names like Kerr, Axford, Tinsley and Manchester and SALT would continue that. Dr Adams is a lecturer in the Department, a recent recipient of a Marsden Fund grant and a former Rhodes Scholar. Astronomy is easily accessible to all. The results of SALT would be available to all New Zealanders via the World Wide Web for a variety of education purposes. South Africa is planning an extensive range of displays and learning media that we could use and expand upon at our regional observatories and science centres.
Astronomy is the most attractive physical science to the general public.
It advertises science as an exciting career option and demystifies it. The wide impact of the science of astronomy and astrophysics is easy to see. Public science literacy improved dramatically with the release of two books. People are not shy of science if it is presented well. Many of these investigations could be done using a high-tech New Zealand built instrument.