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Space and satellites: awareness and observations

19 November 2024 | Story Pat Lamusse | Photo Supplied

Space and satellites 2024 — During the visit to the Naval Hill Planetarium, were from the left, Dr Mart-Mari Duvenhage and Prof Matie Hoffman from the UFS Department of Physics, Consul General Stephanie Bunce and Vanessa Toscano from the US Consulate, and Dinah Mangope from the Department of Physics.

A delegation from the United States (US) Consulate General in Johannesburg, including Consul General Stephanie Bunce and Public Affairs Officer, Vanessa Toscano, visited the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). Consul General Bunce met with the acting Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, Prof Anthea Rhoda, and the Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Paul Oberholster. The US delegation also visited the Naval Hill Planetarium.

The UFS recently received a grant from the US Embassy to fund a project to promote science education by highlighting the role of satellites in our lives. Colleagues from the Department of Physics had the opportunity to demonstrate first-hand how the planetarium technology will be used to implement the project, which poses the question – what if something happens in space that interferes with the thousands of satellites we use for communication, weather prediction, navigation, banking … surveillance?

Thanks to this grant, the UFS will explore these questions and contribute to space situational awareness (SSA) and space domain awareness (SDA). SSA involves knowledge about the orbits of spacecraft and space debris. SDA refers to the knowledge and understanding of all activities occurring within the space domain.

There are currently at least 10 000 active satellites in Earth orbit, most of which are in low Earth orbit (LEO). However, in addition to satellites, there are well over 45 000 objects larger than 10 cm in orbit, including more than 35 000 pieces of space debris, such as dead satellites, rocket bodies, and pieces from breakups and collisions. Since 1991, there have been at least six unintentional collisions between active satellites and space debris.

Space turned out to be not as big as once thought, especially not in low Earth orbit (LEO – altitude less than 2 000 km). To make things worse, there are plans to launch up to 100 000 new satellites into LEO over the next decade.

Prof Matie Hoffman from the UFS Department of Physics notes, “We live in an era when the space economy is growing fast and the number of objects in Earth orbit, including satellites and space debris, is increasing rapidly. This poses risks to operational satellites. Recent publicity around Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites has generated additional interest around this topic. It is important to raise awareness of the challenges, which will allow scientists to mitigate them.”

The project will involve expertise in optical satellite observations from the University of Michigan through Prof Patrick Seitzer, international patron of the Friends of Boyden Observatory, and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). The grant will fund planetarium upgrades that will enable education on space and satellites, as well as optical satellite observations from Boyden Observatory. Beneficiaries will include learners, higher education institutions (both locally and in the US), and the public. South African project partners will be the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), the Future African Space Explorers’ STEM Academy (FASESA), and satellite-related companies in South Africa.

The Boyden Observatory is ideally situated to provide valuable optical satellite observations in an area of the sky that is not accessible from existing satellite observing facilities, especially for objects in LEO. In fact, the first observation of space debris in geosynchronous orbit was from Boyden Observatory in 1967.

The project will be rolled out from the end of 2024, harnessing facilities at both Boyden Observatory and the Naval Hill Planetarium.

News Archive

Childhood obesity should be curbed early

2017-03-15

Description: Child obesity Tags: Child obesity

Serious intervention by parents is required to deal
with childhood obesity. Prof Louise van den Berg and
a group of final-year PhD students worked on a study
about the prevalence of obesity in six-year-olds in
South Africa.
Photo: Supplied

If your child is overweight when they start school at the age of six, unless you do something about it at that point, the indications are they are going to be overweight teenagers and obese adults. This is according to University of the Free State’s Prof Louise van den Berg.

Evidence has shown that overweight children and teenagers have a greater risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease later in life, and dying prematurely.

Obesity is a global pandemic rapidly spreading among adults and children, in developed and developing countries alike.

Dr Van den Berg worked with Keagan Di Ascenzo, Maryke Ferreira, Monja-Marie Kok, Anneke Lauwrens, all PhD students with the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, to conduct the study. Their research found that children who are overweight by the time they turn six should be screened for weight problems.

Why six-year-olds?
Children who are overweight between the ages of two and five are five times more likely to be overweight when they are 12. There are two periods in a normal life cycle when the body makes new fat cells. The first is in the uterus and the second is around the age of six. The second phase lasts from the age of six to puberty.

The study assessed the prevalence of obesity in six-year-olds as part of a campaign in South Africa to raise awareness of the problem among parents and educators.

A total of 99 children were chosen from seven schools in Mangaung, the capital city of Free State. The schools were chosen from quintile four and five schools, which when measured by their own resources and economic circumstances, are well resourced and serve largely middle-class and wealthy communities.

The children’s weight, height and waist circumference were measured and used to calculate a body mass index score and waist-to-height ratio. Both these figures are good predictors for future lifestyle disease risks such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. A person with a good waist-to-height ratio can wrap a piece of string equal to their height around their waist at least twice.

When the children had a higher body mass index, they also had an increased waist to height ratio. The study found one in four children from the schools surveyed were overweight when they started primary school.

Nipping the fat in the bud
Although there are many factors that play a role in preventing childhood obesity, parents’ perceptions of their children’s weight play an important role. A recent study found that more than 50% of parents underestimate the weight of their obese children. These parents remain unaware of the risks their children face and are not motivated to take any action.

At least half of the parents whose children are overweight struggle to recognise their children’s weight problems fearing that they will be labelled or stigmatised. By the time they turn six overweight children should be referred to dieticians and nutritionists who are qualified to guide their parents in getting them to eat well and be more physically active at pre-primary and primary school.

The high prevalence of weight problems among six-year-olds found in this study is an urgent call to healthcare professionals to step up and empower parents, educators and children with the necessary skills for healthy dietary practices and adequate physical activity.

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