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BOOTES-6 Telescope Station captures rare southern lights and advances UFS space research

05 November 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

The northern lights, with their vibrant displays of green, pink, and violet hues, have become a famous attraction in Nordic countries. But in early October, a rare sighting of the southern lights – or aurora australis – was reported in South Africa, surprising many.

Prof Pieter Meintjes, Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS), explains that both the northern and southern lights are the result of charged particles from coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on the sun, which are captured by Earth’s magnetic field. "The interaction between magnetic fields and charged particles, such as protons and electrons, is very interesting. The magnetic field forces these particles to spiral around the field lines, ultimately guiding them towards the magnetic poles. As these particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, they collide with atmospheric atoms, causing a beautiful glow. The colours of the aurora indicate which atoms are involved. Typically, hydrogen shines red, while oxygen and nitrogen produce a greenish-blue tinge," he says.

Observing the southern lights

When the display occurs above the northern magnetic pole, it is called the aurora borealis (northern lights) and can typically be observed over regions such as Alaska, Greenland, and the Nordic countries. Above the southern magnetic pole, it is known as aurora australis (southern lights), usually visible over places such as Antarctica and New Zealand. “In extreme cases – when gigantic mass ejections occurred – it can also be observed in mid-latitudes such as South Africa,” says Prof Meintjes.

This recent and rare South African sighting was also captured by the BOOTES-6 telescope station at Boyden Observatory, located just outside Bloemfontein. According to Prof Meintjes, the telescope station has an all-sky monitor – a camera constantly watching the sky for changes and monitoring, among others, cloud cover to ensure that the telescope is always safe from weather. While the monitor was taking photos of the night sky, Prof Alberto Castro-Tirado, a research professor at the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Spain, picked up the aurora.

The Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Spain, in collaboration with the University College Dublin (UCD), is partnering with the UFS in a research-driven initiative involving the BOOTES-6 telescope station, installed in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under a Memorandum of Understanding that was recently renewed for another five years, the UFS and UCD share approximately 30% of the telescope's observing time dedicated to UFS research.

“The DPRT telescope (Dolores Pérez-Ramírez telescope), named after a Spanish astronomer and lecturer at the University of Jaén, contributes significantly to our research, with publications resulting from contributions made by the telescope station and collaborators on gamma-ray bursts, occultations, and transient events co-authored by me and a colleague in the department, Dr Hendrik van Heerden,” notes Prof Meintjes.

Research-driven initiatives

Data from the telescope station is also used for their in-house projects and contributes significantly to the work of their PhD students that will be submitted in the next few years. This includes the PhD work of Helene Szegedi, who uses data from the BOOTES-6 telescope station to study cataclysmic variable systems – compact binaries that erupt regularly. Another PhD student, Joleen Barnard, studies blazar variability under the guidance of Prof Brian van Soelen. Blazars, explains Prof Meintjes, are the core of distant galaxies powered by supermassive black holes. These cosmic jets are pointed towards Earth, but fortunately, they are millions or billions of light years away; otherwise, their impact would be devastating to life on Earth.

News Archive

Full week of graduation ceremonies at UFS in April

2015-04-10

Autumn always sees the UFS’s first graduation ceremony of the year on the Bloemfontein Campus.

From 14 – 17 April 2015, graduates will once again be rewarded for their hard work while top speakers will address them in the Callie Human Centre. There will be a ceremony at 09:00 and at 14:30 each day on all four days of the graduation.

The programme for the 2015 April Graduation is as follows:

Tuesday 14 April 2015:

Professor Himla Soodyall will be the speaker at both ceremonies on this day. Prof Soodyall is a Medical Scientist for the South African Institute for Medical Research. She is also a Principal Medical Scientist for the National Health Laboratory Service, and a Director for the Human Genome Diversity and Disease Research Unit at the University of Witwatersrand.

During the first ceremony of the day at 09:00, all diplomas/certificates and B degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will be awarded. Only Honours degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will be awarded at the 14:30 ceremony.

Wednesday 15 April 2015:

Wednesday will see Ndumiso Hadebe take the stage to address graduates at both ceremonies.

At the age of 23, Hadebe is the Founder and Managing Director of Master Frontiers Consulting, a firm that capacitates leaders and managers to achieve business goals through their people. He worked previously as a Researcher at Shanduka Black Umbrellas, a flagship enterprise and supplier development programme of the Shanduka Foundation.

He has been received numerous awards for excellence in leadership, such as the Sedibeng District Municipal Mayor’s Award for Service and Leadership. He is a Brand South Africa Ambassador and Read Educational Trust Ambassador.

All diplomas/certificates, B and Honours degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, except B Com degrees, will be awarded during the morning ceremony at 09:00. Later, at the 14:30 ceremony, only B Com degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences will be awarded.

Thursday 16 April 2015:

Multiple award winning South African TV presenter, Leanne Manas, will be the speaker at both Thursday ceremonies.

Manas has graced our screens for over a decade. Not many broadcasters can boast having had live TV experience, 5 days a week for 12 years. She is currently the anchor of SABC 2’s flagship breakfast programme, Morning Live. Leanne is a qualified Speech and Drama teacher. having studied at London Trinity College. She also has an Honours degree in English.
Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Communication Sciences will be awarded during the ceremony at 09:00. The 14:30 ceremony will have diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of the Humanities’ other qualifications except for Social Sciences and Communication Sciences.

Friday 17 April 2015:

Dr Maria Phalime will be the speaker at both ceremonies on Friday.

Phalime is a medical doctor and award-winning author. She practiced for a brief period as a general practitioner in South Africa and the United Kingdom, before leaving medical practice to pursue non-clinical interests. She has worked in trade and investment promotion, and has undertaken research and consulting in the areas of economic development and business facilitation.

Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of Education (CE, NPDE and ACE excluded) will be awarded during the ceremony at 09:00. Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculties of Health Sciences, Law, and Theology will be awarded at the 14:30 ceremony.

Click here for the simple layout of the 2015 April Graduation programme:
http://www.ufs.ac.za/adhoc-pages/2014-graduation-ceremony/graduation-ceremony

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