Tuesday, March 28, 2023 – 2:54 PM
SHARJAH, 28 March / WAM / The International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved 12 new meteor showers that were discovered through the results of a master’s thesis submitted by researcher Muhammad Shawkat Odeh within the Master of Science program in Space and Astronomy of the Department of Applied Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sharjah, under Supervised by Dr. Mashhoor Al-Wardat, Professor of Astrophysics at the University and Director of Academic Affairs at the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Science, Technology and Astronomy, and Assistant Superintendent Dr. “Peter Jeniskins” from the US Space Agency NASA.
His Excellency Dr. Hamid Majul Al Nuaimi, Director of the University of Sharjah, Director General of the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy and Space Science and Technology, and President of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, praised this new scientific discovery, adding that this achievement is recorded for the UAE, as it resulted from studies prepared by the people of the country, and this comes to achieve the vision His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, and founder of the University of Sharjah, and the directives of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and President of the University of Sharjah.
He stressed the importance of the scientific and knowledge horizons of the master’s programs offered by the University of Sharjah, especially in the fields of space and astronomy, specifically master’s programs in space and astronomy, a master’s degree in geographic information systems and remote sensing, and a master’s program in air and space law.
Dr. Mashhoor Al-Wardat, who supervised the thesis, explained that the discovery was made after analyzing the observations of the Emirates Network for Observing Meteors and Meteors affiliated with the International Astronomy Centre. These observations were collected from the operation of the network in 2017 to the end of the year 2021, which included approximately 77 thousand meteors, so that the orbit of each of them around the sun was determined by calculating its orbital elements. , mentioning the orbital elements in addition to the proposed name for the new shower, as the International Astronomical Union approved all the proposed showers and they were recorded and published on its website.
For his part, the researcher, Eng. Mohamed Shawkat Odeh, Director of the International Astronomy Center in Abu Dhabi, presented the details of the discovered meteor showers. He said that these new meteor showers are named according to a standard approved by the International Astronomical Union, so the meteor shower is attributed to the stellar group that contains the point of radiation, which is a fake point The shower’s meteors appear to be emanating from it.
He added that the Emirates Network for Observing Meteors and Meteors has contributed, since its inception, to many discoveries announced by the International Astronomical Union, and has participated in many researches published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. and sobriety.
Abdel Nasser Menem