Dr. Daniel Cunnama, Science Engagement Astronomer at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), reframes “outreach” as two-way engagement. He outlines South Africa’s global standing in astronomy, SALT, MeerKAT, and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)—and argues real inclusion means meeting people in their cultures and languages. He highlights collaborative projects with linguist Dr. Kerry Jones and Khoi and San communities: animated star-lore films (translated across languages), community screenings where children see their stories celebrated, and art installations for SAAO’s new visitor centre that acknowledge the observatory’s presence on traditional lands.

Cunnama describes a ceiling map of the night sky rendered not with Western constellations, but re-imagined |Xam/Korah constellations reconstructed from the 19th-century Bleek & Lloyd archive. Using Stellarium to roll the sky back to January 1874, the team positioned figures like the “dassie star” where historical notes placed them, then commissioned artwork inspired by Kalahari traditions.

He closes with planetarium films, Rising Star and Sîda !Tsâtsâs (Our Beginning) that weave science with indigenous storytelling, including a Jackal origin tale. The goal: cultivate pride, belonging, and a living relationship with the night sky by creating with, not for, communities. (Talk associated with TEDxRiversdale; Dr. Cunnama’s speaker pages corroborate the title and focus.)

Dr. Daniel Cunnama, Science Engagement Astronomer at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), introduces himself and the observatory’s two-century legacy in Cape Town, with modern observing now based at Sutherland in the Northern Cape to escape light pollution. He explains why South Africa is a premier location for astronomy: third-darkest professional site at Sutherland, strong government backing, and a dramatic growth in the local research community. He spotlights the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) a six-storey facility with an 11-metre effective mirror of 91 hexagonal segments—and describes what such light-gathering power enables, from distant galaxies to extraordinarily fine detail.

Shifting to radio astronomy, he tours the 64-dish MeerKAT array (15 m dishes spread across the Karoo) and previews the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) expansion adding ~130 dishes in the next five years. He frames the data challenge (astronomy as a big-data science that needs more data scientists and supercomputing) and outlines day-and-night operations: monitoring instruments and weather, scheduling observations, collaborating globally, and pouncing on transient events like supernovae.

In a Q&A with learners, he clarifies why space looks dark even with a Sun, our star’s glare drowns out others in daytime—and explains “trains” of moving lights after dusk as satellites (e.g., new constellations reflecting sunlight). Asked for a favorite planet, he picks Pluto and uses the exchange to explain its reclassification as a dwarf planet. On black holes, he illustrates gravity and escape velocity: with enough mass, not even light can escape, hence “black.” The session closes with pointers to SAAO resources and social channels for students hungry for opportunities in South African astronomy.

Dr Daniel Cunnama joins a live morning show to react to a major milestone for the James Webb Space Telescope. He stresses that Webb is not a simple Hubble replacement. It observes mainly in near and mid infrared, so it complements Hubble while benefiting from three decades of advances and a much larger light collecting area. He explains why engineers parked Webb about a million miles from Earth at the Sun–Earth L2 point. Infrared sensors must be extremely cold, so Webb needs distance from Earth’s heat and a stable thermal environment. L2 provides a gravitationally stable spot that minimizes fuel for station keeping and keeps the spacecraft permanently in Earth’s shadow behind a multi layer sunshield.

Cunnama recaps commissioning steps after the Christmas Day launch. Webb launched folded up, then spent a month deploying its sunshield and segmented mirror. The next phase is painstaking mirror alignment to nanometer precision and instrument testing. Once calibration is complete, the world should see the first science images mid year, after which Webb will begin routine observations reaching back to the era of the first galaxies. Throughout, Cunnama’s tone is accessible and enthusiastic, translating deep space engineering into everyday language for viewers.