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Desert … meet the stars

The annual Geminids meteor shower is something. The annual Geminids meteor shower observed from Abu Dhabi’s dark desert is something else.

Abu Dhabi amateur astrophotographer Anas Albounni recently led a group on a cosmic safari to view the Geminids, which are traditionally active each December. Peak viewing is around mid-month with 120 meteors visible per hour, depending on visibility.

Albounni took 20-30 adults and kids out to one of his favorite dark spots between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Where exactly? That’s a closely held secret.

He says protecting these areas from light pollution and from being overrun is essential for night-sky viewing.

CAPTION: Night sky viewing IMAGE: Syed Awais Ahmed
CAPTION: Night sky viewing IMAGE: Syed Faryab Shah

Most meteor showers originate with a comet, but the Geminids are produced by debris from 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid that behaves like a comet. It “brightens and grows a faint tail (when close to the sun), helping make this shower especially bright,” says National Geographic. The magazine describes it as “one of the best meteor showers of the year — and the weirdest.”

The Geminids are active each December. Peak viewing is around mid-month with 120 meteors visible each hour, weather permitting, of course.

CAPTION: The moon as seen through the telescope that night, photo captured using a phone on the telescope eyepiece IMAGE: Anas Albounni

Prime visibility needs clear skies. Light pollution can also reduce visibility, so you need to be somewhere dark, ideally between midnight and dawn. New and thin crescent moons are best.

If the stars align, you’re in for a treat. Not only are the Geminids plentiful, they’re also colorful.

Syed Faryab Shah wasn’t overly keen on attending the event initially as it was his birthday.

He tagged along with friends for a road trip in a seven-seater, some pizza and good company. Much to his surprise, it was a birthday to remember.

“Going there was the best decision ever,” he says. “We talked, laughed and looked up at the beautiful sky. Anas even showed us Jupiter through his telescope. We took dozens of photos, made memories, and spent time talking under the stars in the chilly weather.”

IMAGE: Syed Awais Ahmed
Five tips from Anas Albounni:

1. Cast away hesitation and just do it! Trust me, I’ve been there. Read more›››

2. I strongly recommend that everyone join such a trip at least once to experience it firsthand. It will tell you if this is for you or not. Plus, if you find interest in it, it’s better to have someone with experience to guide you during this first step with the right gear.

3. Bring your kids to introduce them to the topic. Astronomy is a fascinating subject that many have interest in but can’t imagine where or how to step into it.

4. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. The only stupid question is the question that is not asked. That’s how we all got into it.

5. Stay connected, keep an eye on celestial events and socialize with like-minded people.‹‹‹ Read less

Longtime enthusiast Albounni, stargazer by night, creative lead of the Khalifa University Science and Tech Review by day, was fascinated by the cosmos long before he began his artistic professional path. But it became a true passion after attending an event organized by the UAE Astronomy Group. He later became the main organizer of the group.

“I was truly hooked after that and started religiously absorbing everything I could get my hands on, through equipment, researching online, reading books and asking the experienced members for help and guidance,” he says.

Stargazing is often imagined as a solo pursuit, but Albounni says he believes it is something to be shared. He reserves desert ventures of solitude for astrophotography sessions.

“Astrophotography doesn’t go well with large and inexperienced groups; it requires a tremendous amount of focus, accuracy and patience. A tiny unintentional foot bump to the telescope can ruin hours of work. Personally, I love inviting others to join, but when I do, I keep my expectations reasonable. I don’t plan for serious astrophotography, especially when large numbers turn up, in many cases, with kids.”

Fellow astrophotographer and co-organizer, Syed Awais Ahmed, says it was a night of learning, “We had a full astrophotography setup to take deep sky images of various nebulas and galaxies.

The guests were shown the basics on how everything works, what equipment would be needed, how everything works.”

When he does these group events, Albounni says it’s exciting for him to see the reactions of those viewing celestial elements for the first time.

At a recent outing, the group viewed Jupiter and Saturn, which Albounni calls “the true lord of the rings.”

CAPTION: Jupiter and 3 of its moon as seen through the telescope that night IMAGE: Anas Albounni

He was delighted when one woman jumped up and down and squealed with delight that she could see its rings. “People’s reactions the first time looking through a telescope is priceless,” he says.

Zainab Ali Altal attended the Geminids event, a first for her. “I took my family out to the desert in Abu Dhabi to watch the meteor shower, and it turned into this beautiful mix of stargazing and science. Watching my niece and nephew get excited every time a meteor streaked across the sky was the best part.”

Albounni tells KUST Review the Geminids are now observable only every second year because of an 11- to 12-day difference between the lunar and solar calendars.

The forecast was unfavorable, but he opted to go ahead with the outing anyway. “I’m glad I did. The night was beautiful, even with clouds,” he says. “We counted over 70 meteors that night.

The cool thing about it is that it depends on where you are looking. You will see the meteors at one angle and others looking at another part of the sky will see different meteors.”

Interested in joining a future event? Check Meetup.com, UAE Astronomy Group, where the group posts upcoming outings.

CAPTION: A phone shot of the sky showing Jupiter, Sirius (the brightest star in the sky) and the Orion constellation, to the right of Orion’s belt (the three stars in the middle) you can see a group of bright spots, that’s the Orion nebula. See close up below. IMAGE: Anas Albounni

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CAPTION: Orion nebula located 1.344 light years away from earth. This can be seen with the naked eye from a dark location. Photo taken over 4 nights in 2017. IMAGE: Anas Albounni

More like this: Lost in the light

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Camels switch off their kidneys
to survive dehydration threats

To better understand how the Arabian camel manages to preserve water, a team from University of Bristol, United Arab Emirates University and Khalifa University examined the genes in the kidneys of Arabian camels exposed to chronic dehydration to determine how the animals can survive long periods of time in harsh conditions without access to water and what humanity could possibly learn from this.

The results were published in Communications Biology.

“Extensive evidence shows the impressive set of adaptations that allows a camel to thrive in desert environments, despite sometimes needing to survive for weeks without access to water,” says team lead Abdu Adem, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology at Khalifa University. “Behavioral and physiological adaptations ensure that water is never wasted. Camels will only eat the leaves of plants, they avoid exposure to direct sunlight where possible, restrict reproduction to the cooler winter season, and drink very large amounts of water when available to compensate for any fluid deficiency from their desert wandering.”

Camels have been known to drink 30 gallons of water in just 13 minutes, but even here they have an evolutionary adaptation to avoid osmotic shock, or a sudden change in the solute concentration around a cell: They absorb the water very slowly.

The kidney that plays the largest role in conserving water for a camel, and it is from the camel kidney that humans can take inspiration. IMAGE: Unsplash

An intricate nasal passage prevents too much water loss when the camel breathes out, but more importantly, water evaporates from the surface of the nostrils to moisturize dry air when the camel breathes in, helping to cool the blood in the veins of the nose.

Thanks to thin blood-vessel walls, this cooler venous blood can help cool the blood in the arteries leading to the brain, meaning the camel’s brain is considerably lower in temperature than the body core.

Even the red blood cells themselves have a special shape shown to be advantageous in withstanding dehydration.

On top of all this, camels rarely sweat, even in the searing temperatures of the desert, all helping to conserve water.

Our analysis suggests that genes with known roles in water conservation are affected by changes in cholesterol levels. Suppressing the production of cholesterol may help the kidney retain water.

– Abdu Adem, Khalifa University professor of pharmacology

Yet, despite all these advantages, it is the kidney that plays the largest role in conserving water for a camel, and it is from the camel kidney that humans can take inspiration.

“In the current context of climate change, there is renewed interest in the mechanisms that enable camels and camelids to survive in arid conditions,” Adem says. “We investigated the camel kidney to see how gene expression has been influenced by chronic dehydration and rapid rehydration. Our analysis suggests that genes with known roles in water conservation are affected by changes in cholesterol levels. Suppressing the production of cholesterol may help the kidney retain water.”

Yet, despite all these advantages, it is the kidney that plays the largest role in conserving water for a camel, and it is from the camel kidney that humans can take inspiration.

“In the current context of climate change, there is renewed interest in the mechanisms that enable camels and camelids to survive in arid conditions,” Adem says. “We investigated the camel kidney to see how gene expression has been influenced by chronic dehydration and rapid rehydration. Our analysis suggests that genes with known roles in water conservation are affected by changes in cholesterol levels. Suppressing the production of cholesterol may help the kidney retain water.”

Camels produce highly concentrated urine, preserving as much water as possible. To produce such urine, the kidney must possess certain anatomical features.

Previous research has shown that the kidney of a young camel differs in structure from that of an adult, suggesting that the differences may be related to a greater degree of water deprivation experienced by adult animals. This would suggest that chronic dehydration causes genes in the adult camel kidney to be expressed differently, allowing the kidney to better preserve water.

The research team noted that the amount of cholesterol in the kidney has a role in the water-conservation process. In dehydrated camel kidneys, there was less cholesterol in the kidney membranes, and the genes that control the production of cholesterol were suppressed.

“We found remarkable changes in the amounts of specific genes and proteins in the kidney of the one-humped Arabian camel during severe dehydration and subsequent acute rehydration,” Adem says. “Our data suggests that the suppression of genes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis and the subsequent reduction in membrane cholesterol are a global response in the kidney to dehydration.”

We found remarkable changes in the amounts of specific genes and proteins in the kidney of the one-humped Arabian camel during severe dehydration and subsequent acute rehydration.

– Abdu Adem

Several ion channels and transporters are regulated by changes in the level of cholesterol in the cell. Dehydration and excessive heat cause electrolyte imbalances in the body, and the kidneys are one factor in keeping electrolyte levels balanced.

If there is an increase of cholesterol in the membrane of the kidney, movement through the ion channels is blocked. When cholesterol levels are lowered, water and electrolytes can move across different parts of the kidney, which helps reabsorb water and produce a highly concentrated urine.

The researchers found that during the summer, the gene that regulates the production of a protein called aquaporin 2 is expressed more, presumably in preparation for the more challenging conditions of the season.

Aquaporin 2 forms a channel in cell membranes to allow water molecules to pass through. During periods of dehydration, aquaporin 2 channels are inserted into the membranes of kidney cells, which allows water to be reabsorbed into the bloodstream, making the urine more concentrated.

The researchers found that when cholesterol was depleted, aquaporin 2 levels increased.

When the camel rehydrates, the gene expression is suppressed, the channels close and the expression of cholesterol synthesis genes returns to normal levels.

While this new knowledge contributes to our understanding of the immense evolutionary advantages the Arabian camel uses to survive in the desert, it could more importantly help humanity better adapt to advancing desertification amid climate change. Understanding the mechanisms of water control in dehydration could allow us to apply the principles to water conservation across a wide variety of disciplines.