The UAE Meteor Monitoring Network

The UAE Astronomical Cameras Network (UACN) is an activity done in cooperation between the UAE Space Agency and Sharjah Center for Astronomy & Space sciences.

The network consist of three different station across the country to record astronomical events in the UAE Sky. Each Station consists of sky-pointed astronomical cameras located at several locations in the United Arab Emirates. The cameras automatically record a video file once a meteor is detected. That meteor might just be part of a meteor shower, or it could be a meteorite fall or the reentry of satellite debris! When that meteor is captured from more than one site, its trajectory is calculated so that the meteor shower of origin can be determined, as well as the location of meteorite impact sites in case a meteorite fall happens over the UAE.

The UAE Meteor Monitoring Network project is funded by the UAE Space Agency and operated by the Sharjah Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences (SCASS). The purpose of the project is to monitor the sky for any type of space debris whether it is human-made like satellites or meteors and fireballs. A network of three towers are located at the Sharjah Center for Astronomy and Space Sciences (SCASS), Al Ain, and Liwa. Each station contains 17 astronomical cameras that automatically start recording video and taking imagery upon detection of meteors. A special software is used to analyse the captured space debris data and projects the trajectory and the possible landing location in the UAE.