The UAE Meteor Monitoring Network

Abstract

In this paper, we present the UAE Meteor Monitoring Network (UAEMMN) project. The system is intended to detect space debris (natural ones, i.e., meteors, or man-made, i.e., satellite debris). Presently, this research primarily focuses on meteors. The network consists of three towers, with each tower equipped with 17 cameras. The three towers are located at three different locations in the UAE (Sharjah, Al-Yahar, and Liwa) to cover the whole UAE sky. The meteors are detected through different types of sensitive cameras (6 mm, 8 mm, and a fisheye lens). These cameras can only see debris entering the Earth's atmosphere, hence posing no threat anymore. The “UFO” software is used to analyze the captured space debris data and projects the possible trajectory and landing location in the UAE. However, these falling locations are only relevant to the rare meteorite droppers among the observed fireballs. The UAEMMN system was able to detect a large number of meteors, with the Liwa station scoring the highest hit because of its dark sky desert location. This paper will mainly emphasize on the construction of the UAEMMN towers and compare the proposed framework with similar systems developed in other countries worldwide. Some preliminary results are presented to show the observation capabilities of the UAEMNN system. We will also {briefly} mention the role of this new system in the UAE Space Agency Space Situation Awareness program. The UAEMMN is operated by the Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences, and Technology (SAASST) located at Sharjah (UAE).