In a news report released by the United Nations African Regional Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in English (UN-ARCSSTEE), Professor Babatunde Rabiu, the Director of UN-ARCSSTEE, disclosed that Nigeria had acquired the first cosmic ray muon detector in Africa during a symposium focusing on Cosmic Rays and Space Weather organised by UN-ARCSSTEE in collaboration with Georgia State University (GSU), USA, in Abuja.
The symposium delved into cosmic radiation’s interaction with the atmosphere and environments, its impact on climate change, and the utilisation of cosmic ray muon detectors for study and analysis. It also advocated for stakeholders to make informed decisions concerning reducing gas emissions and promoting clean air for sustainable human development.
The detector was designed and developed by the Physics and Astronomy Department of Georgia State University (GSU), USA, for monitoring cosmic rays and space weather. According to Professor Babatunde Babiu, cosmic rays constitute natural radiation un-ionized in the atmosphere, and their location, latitude, and altitude variance can undergo modification due to certain human activities. In addition, he stressed the growing interest among scientists in predicting weather and studying space weather, particularly in light of the evident climate change trends. Professor Rabiu also emphasised that cosmic rays, omnipresent and significant to Earth’s climate research, continue to be the subject of ongoing investigation to grasp their impact fully.
Furthermore, Professor Babatunde Rabiu traced space weather activities in Africa back to 2004, when donor agencies distributed manometers across the continent. While acknowledging the presence of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers in a few African countries, he underlined the continent’s potential in space science and technology. He emphasised the need for more monitoring systems for space weather in Africa, a call to action for the continent’s scientific community.
Professor He Xiaochun, the Director of Physics at GSU, USA, discussed the project’s aim to explore living conditions in space, understand adaptation, and provide stakeholders with information for informed decisions and protection. Professor He Xiaochun described that cosmic ray radiation, predominantly consisting of proton particles, originates deep in space, enters the solar system, and produces cosmic ray showers in the earth’s upper atmosphere. The particles from these showers are measured at the earth’s surface to decode space and earth weather conditions.
