The UAE Space Agency has launched the UAE Meteor Monitoring Network (UAEMMN) in collaboration with the Sharjah Centre for Astronomy and Space Sciences (SCASS), as reported by Khaleej Times.
The network will encompass three towers situated at different locations of the UAE.
Commenting on the new network, Aisha Abdulla Alowais, research assistant at the SCASS, quoted in the English daily, said: “It (the network) includes three towers at different locations of the UAE. The first one is at the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology, the second one is in Al Yahar in Al Ain and the third is in Liwa in Abu Dhabi. Each tower consists of 17 cameras that covers all directions. Since September 2018 until May 2019, the network observed around 9,500 meteors.”
“The mission of the network is to monitor space debris in the UAE sky and to enable universities to benefit from the network’s results to conduct studies related to meteors as well as to engage the public and have them aware about space debris,” Alowais said.
“Monitoring meteors is an essential part in the field of space and astronomy due to the scientific importance those meteors hold when they are collected as meteorites. The UAEMMN is part of the UAE ‘Space Situational Awareness’ (SSA).”
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