SANSA Space Science, previously the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) is South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

's national geomagnetic research facility. The observatory is situated in the town of Hermanus

Hermanus

Hermanus is a town with 49,000 inhabitants on the southern coast of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is famous as a place from which to watch Southern Right whales, during the southern winter and spring and is a popular retirement town...

 in the Western Cape Province and forms part of the South African National Space Agency

South African National Space Agency

The South African National Space Agency is South Africa's government agency responsible for the promotion and development of aeronautics and aerospace space research...

.

The observatory is an active participant in the International Real-time Magnetic Observatory Network

Intermagnet

Intermagnet is a global network of observatories, monitoring the Earth's magnetic field.- Participating Countries :Intermagnet now has Geomagnetic Information Nodes in 5 continents....

, one of a large number magnetic observatories which monitor and model variations of the Earth’s magnetic field.

The HMO consists of four operational groups:

• Space Physics
  Space physics
  Space physics, also known as space plasma physics, is the study of plasmas as they occur naturally in the universe. As such, it encompasses a far-ranging number of topics, including the sun, solar wind, planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres, auroras, cosmic rays, and synchrotron radiation...
  
  
• Geomagnetism
• Technology
  Technology
  Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
  
  
• Science Outreach
  Science outreach
  Science outreach, also called Education and Public Outreach or simply Public outreach, is an umbrella term for a variety of activities by research institutes, universities, and institutions such as science museums, aimed at promoting public awareness of science and making informal contributions...
  
  

Since 1957 the observatory has been operating neutron monitor

Neutron monitor

A neutron monitor is a ground-based detector designed to measure the number of high-energy charged particles striking the Earth's atmosphere from outer space. For historical reasons the incoming particles are called "cosmic rays", but in fact they are particles, predominantly protons and Helium...

s. Currently this is being done on behalf of the North-West University

North-West University

The North-West University is a newly merged institution from 1 January 2004 onwards with four campuses at Potchefstroom, Mafikeng, Vanderbijlpark and Mankwe. The Potchefstroom Campus is the largest, and the head office of the University is situated at this location...

 and consists of 12 Chalk River

Chalk River Laboratories

The Chalk River Laboratories is a Canadian nuclear research facility located near Chalk River, about north-west of Ottawa in the province of Ontario.CRL is a site of major research and development to support and advance nuclear technology, in particular CANDU reactor...

neutron counter tubes.