‘NASRDA installs first optical imager in Africa’

In a statement by the Head of Media and Corporate Communications of the Agency, Dr Felix Ale, who described the facility as the first in the continent based on current global reports,  the Optical Imager was installed at the space environment research laboratory of the agency’s Centre for Basic Atmospheric Research.The multimillion naira facility was […]

In a statement by the Head of Media and Corporate Communications of the Agency, Dr Felix Ale, who described the facility as the first in the continent based on current global reports,  the Optical Imager was installed at the space environment research laboratory of the agency’s Centre for Basic Atmospheric Research.
The multimillion naira facility was co-sponsored by the agency’s partners in Japan and is capable of capturing the space environment up to 500 kilometres over a radial distance of 400 kilometres and can give accurate information on travelling ionospheric disturbances, gravity waves and plasma bubble among other ionospheric phenomena.
The first light from the installation has been recorded while interesting results that have never been captured over Nigeria and Africa as a continent are now being obtained, according to Dr Ale.
The installed facility ponders real time data for a global network which are being used to improve Space weather now-cast services.
The now-cast is engaged in mitigating the negative effects of space weather on Space-based technologies and their attendant services.
The observations from the imager are capable of improving the Nation’s Satellite Earth Radio communication systems which include performance of GSM communications and internet connectivity among other things.
Data from the facility observations are also useful for graduate research while services that engage Global Navigation Satellite Systems would surely benefit from the application of results from the optical imager observations.
The choice of Abuja for the installation was perfect as the Federal Capital City is within the equatorial ionosphere anomaly region which lies along the brand of 15-20 degrees on either side of magnetic equator.
This region is known for its complex ionospheric activities which also extend to the entire space environment over it. During certain space weather events, the electrodynamics of the region often leads to uplifting of plasma along the dip equator and subsequent falling about 15-20 degrees on either side of the magnetic equator.