SAASST News (414)
UAE Meteor Monitoring Network Statistics
The UAE Meteor Monitoring Network (UAEMMN) consists of three towers (Sharjah, Yahar, and Liwa) dedicated to observing meteors over the UAE sky. It has been operational since 2018. For January 2022, the total number of meteors observed was as follows: Sharjah (95 meteors), Al-Yahar (134 meteors), and Liwa (180 meteors). This leads to a total of 409 meteors. The pattern of detections shows fluctuation throughout the month, peaking on January 8, as the
Artificial Intelligence: Past, Present, and Future
Ms. Aisha Al-Owais, a SAASST research assistant at the meteorite center, presented an online general lecture under the theme "Artificial Intelligence: Past, Present, and the Future." Mrs. Aisha started her talk with a reminder of the origin of the word algorithm and its root in the Islamic scientific heritage through many Muslim scientists like Al-Khwarizmi and others. The introduction of the Arabic numerals proved to be primordial in dealing with
SAASST General Lecture - Asteroids
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized an online general lecture ‘Asteroids” on Jan. 26, 2022. The lecture was given by the research assistant Mr. Mohamed Talafha. Mr. Talafha is also the main astronomical observer at the SAASST Sharjah Optical Observatory. Asteroids are mainly those rocks in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. They are considered to be the leftover of the formation of the solar system.
SAASST Radio Astronomy Program RISE Seminar
As part of the “Research Institute of Sciences & Engineering” Seminar Series, Prof. Ilias Fernini, the SAASST Deputy General Director for Research, presented a seminar under the title “SAASST Radio Astronomy Program.” The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology has an active radio astronomy program. With its “Sharjah Decametric Radio Telescope (SDRT)” that operates at 20.1 MHz and the “40-m Sharjah Radio
Satellite Technologies
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized an online workshop on “Satellites Technologies” on Jan. 19, 2022. The lecture was given by the research engineers at the CubeSat Laboratory, Mr. Yousuf Faroukh, Mrs. Tarifa Al-Kaabi, Ms. Amel Alhammadi, Ms. Maryam Al-Ansaari, and Mrs. Fatima Alketbi. Prof. Ilias Fernini, the Deputy General Director for the research at SAASST, opened the workshop to introduce the
SAASST Attends the ADNEC Sustainability Week
Mrs. Aisha Al-Owais, a research assistant at the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST), was invited by the UAE Space Agency to give a short presentation about the academy on Jan. 18, 2022. This was part of the “Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week,” the Future Sustainability Summit organized during Jan. 17-19, 2022. The summit was to set the stage for engaging, thought-provoking discussions on the global sustainability
Closure Ceremony of the 3rd Winter SIFHAMS Winter School
HE Prof. Hamid Al-Naimiy, the Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, attended the closure ceremony of the 3rd Graduate Winter School of the Sharjah International Foundation for the History of Arab and Muslim Sciences (SIFHAMS) on Jan. 15, 2022. The ceremony was held at the newly “House of Wisdom” facility in Sharjah. Prof. Mesut Idriz, the Director of SIFHAMS, opened the ceremony by thanking all the participants for their long week dedication to all
SAASST Lecture: A Brief History of Women in Physics
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized a general lecture on "A Brief History of Women in Physics" on Jan. 12, 2022. The lecture was given by Ms. Maryam Al-Qasimi, a research assistant at the High Energy Astrophysics Laboratory. Ms. Maryam highlighted the importance and the role of women in promoting science and engineering at all levels. Science and technology are often considered to be the domain of men. Nevertheless, the contribution of women to the progress of these areas cannot be disregarded. There have been numerous gifted and far-
SAASST Lecture: Mars Terraforming
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized on Dec. 22, 2021, a lecture on "Mars Terraforming." The lecture was given by Mr. Amr Ansary, SAASST Planetarium Scientific Guide. Mars has always been that red spot with so many mysteries. One of these is its surface that resembles Earth to a great extent: dunes, valleys, mountains, and dry bed rivers. But was Mars a livable planet 3 or 4 billion years ago? Did water ever exist on its surface? Did Mars have a thick atmosphere to retain that water? So many questions to ask, but without clear and definite answers. This explains the series of spacecrafts sent to explore Mars and come
UAEMMN Observation Report Geminids Meteor Shower Peak-2021
The UAE Meteor Monitoring Network (UAEMMN) observed 780 meteors during the Geminids peak period from the period of Dec. 13-15, 2021. Despite the cloudy skies and the waxing Moon, the network managed to capture many meteors. As can be seen from the graph below, December 14 has the highest score, where the number of meteors reached 420 for all three towers together. Surprisingly, Sharjah recorded a higher number of meteors when compared to Liwa records. For instance, on December 14, Sharjah captured 262 meteors while Liwa only observed 108 meteors. This may be due because of a problem with the Liwa tower. Furthermore, due to technical issues, there were no for Al-Yahar for December 13, 2021. This tower started to record after the regular maintenance visit of December 14.
Estonia, Malaysia, and Colombia Delegations Visit SAASST
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology had the honor to receive high-profile delegations from Estonia, Malaysia, and Colombia during the week of Dec. 12-16, 2021. These delegations comprised Rectors, Vice-Rectors, and Professors from different universities of these three countries. SAASST facilities, administration, academic, public outreach, and research were introduced to all delegates who were very pleased and surprised by the level of accomplishment (public outreach and research) that the academy has reached. Furthermore, the delegates expressed their wishes to know further about our programs in the near future.
New SAASST Project: Sharjah Solar Radio Spectrometer
The Radio Astronomy Lab team at SAASST developed a new system to study solar radio bursts in the frequency range from the upper HF band to the lower VHF band (25 MHz – 55 MHz). Like all radio telescopes, the Sharjah Solar Radio Spectrometer (SSRS) consists of three elements: antenna, receiver, and monitoring software. The antenna is a copper wire formed as an inverted V folded dipole hanging at 2 meters to cover the frequencies as mentioned
SAASST Lecture - A Brief Introduction to GNSS by Mr. Abdullah Masud
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized an online lecture on Wednesday, Dec. 08, 2021, titled "A Brief Introduction to GNSS." The lecturer was Mr. Abdullah Masud from the SAASST Space Weather and Ionospheric Laboratory. More than 80 participants followed the lecture on Zoom and YouTube.
A Special Forum to Celebrate the "UAE-India Relations" in light of the UAE Golden Jubilee
The "Tamayuz Academy of India" has organized a special forum to celebrate the UAE Golden Jubilee. Dr. Sabir Nawas Mohamed, the Director of the Tamayuz Academy, expressed his warm greetings to the UAE people and leadership at the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the creation of the United Arab Emirates. Great trading ties exist between the UAE and India that go back centuries. The Indian Academy has invited several professionals from the UAE to highlight the UAE's achievements in arts, education, and space exploration. Prof. Ilias Fernini, the Deputy General Director for Research at the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST), showcased SAASST's contribution to the UAE space program. SAASST, with its different units (academic, planetarium, and research laboratories), is playing a vital in promoting the UAE space exploration vision.
SAASST Celebration of UAE National Day 2021
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) staff celebrated on Nov. 24-25, 2021, the UAE National Day. It was a very emotional moment for everyone to be part of these festivities. The whole world is witnessing that the United Arab Emirates is now a space power. With the Mars Hope Mission, the future Rashad lunar rover of 2024, the Venus and asteroids space mission of 2028, the UAE is a member of the space
SAASST STK Workshop
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) organized an STK workshop on Thursday, Nov. 25, 2021, as part of its CubeSat Laboratory activities for the academic year 2021/2022. The onsite workshop was given by Mr. Diogo Rodriguez, the AGI MENA Director. Mr. Diogo was assisted by Mrs. Tarifa Al-Kaabi and Mr. Yusuf Faroukh, both research engineers at the laboratory.
Lecture on Plasma Physics Dr. Mubasshir Shaikh
Dr. Mubasshir Shaikh, a research scientist at the SAASST Space Weather and Ionospheric Laboratory, gave a lecture on "Plasma Physics: Frozen in Magnetic Field" on Nov. 24, 2021. The online lecture was attended by more than 70 students and SAASSt research assistants. Physicists refer to plasma as one of the four fundamental states of matter after gas, liquid, and solid. It consists of a gas of ions – atoms or molecules which have at least one
Workshop on "Achieving Science with CubeSats"
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology organized on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, a workshop on "Achieving Science with CubeSats." Several SAASST research assistants participated in different presentations to cover the subject as per the program below:
More...
Renovation of SAASST Decametric Radio Telescope (DRT)
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology has completely renovated the Decametric Radio Telescope (DRT) that works at 20.1 MHz. Mr. Mohamed Rihan, the coordinator of the DRT, along with his team Mr. Issam Abujami (IT Director), Mr. Anas Omar Adwan (Maintenance Engineer), Mr. Abdallah Atoui (Research Assistant), and Mr. Ismail Abbas Zein (Research Assistant) have spent the whole of Nov. 14-18, 2021 working on the much-
SAASST Planetarium Upgrade Contract Signing Ceremony
HE Prof. Hamid Al-Naimiy, the Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, and the General Director of the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology, has signed an agreement with Visual attractions to upgrade the digital planetarium system and other auxiliaries related elements. This upgrade is much needed to keep the SAASST planetarium updated as new display technologies emerge in crystal clear displays with high resolution. The CEO/Technical Director of Visuals Attraction Electronics LLC, Mr. Wisam Al Mufti, signed the agreement. Mr. Martin Kraus, the CEO of Carl Zeiss Planetarium Division, and Mr. Ian Dyer, the International Commercial Manager of Visuals Attractions LLC, also attended the ceremony.
Space Weather Workshop Dr. Mubasshir Shaikh
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) organized a special workshop on "GNSS Data Processing for Space Weather Applications" on Nov. 11, 2021. The lecture was given by Dr. Mubasshir Shaikh and Mr. Abdollah Masoud. Both researchers are part of the SAASST Space Weather and Ionospheric Laboratory (SW&IL). Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) describes any satellite constellation that provides positioning,
Lecture on Artificial Intelligence in Astronomy by Dr. Antonios Manousakis
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) organized a lecture on "Artificial Intelligence in Astronomy" on Nov. 10, 2021. The lecture was given by Dr. Antonios Manousakis, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Applied Physics and Astronomy and a research scientist at SAASST. We live in an era of big data in astronomy. We are moving from gigabyte (1,073,741,824 bytes) to terabyte (1,000 gigabytes) and
Seminar on the Emirates Mars Mission Data by Dr. Francois Forget & Ms. Hoor Al-Mazmi
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) organized a seminar entitled the "Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) Data" on Nov. 09, 2021, in collaboration with the UAE Space Agency. Ms. Hoor Al-Mazmi from the UAE Space agency and Dr. Francois Forget, a French astrophysicist, a research director at the CNRS, and a French Academy of Sciences member, conducted the seminar.
Lecture by Mr. Joachim Reinhold : Golden Age of Islamic Civilization
The Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) organized a lecture entitled the “Golden Age of Islamic civilization” on Nov. 02, 2021. The lecture was given by Mr. Joachim Reinhold, the CEO of Quantum Entanglement, a German-based research organization. Prof. Ilias Fernini, the SAAST Deputy General Director for Research, gave a short introduction to the subject. Prof. Ilias emphasized the role of the Islamic civilization in preserving the Greek heritage and launching a great