Aditya L1 observes the Sun’s first high-energy explosion
As the Aditya-L1 mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) continues its journey towards its destination at Lagrange Point 1, it has achieved a major breakthrough in solar research. During its first observation period on October 29, 2023, the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS), one of the seven payloads on board the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, successfully recorded the impulsive phase of solar flares. An abrupt and powerful outburst of radiation, mostly in the form of ultraviolet (UV) and X-rays, that originates from the Sun’s surface and outer atmosphere is called a solar flare. The release of magnetic energy held within the Sun’s atmosphere is what causes solar flares. The Aditya-L1 mission was launched on September 2, 2023, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Its goal is to provide a thorough understanding of the dynamics of the Sun and how it affects the Earth’s climate.
Every 12 days, NASA and ISRO plan to map entire planet
According to NASA officials, NISAR, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, is scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2024 following a number of tests, especially those involving vibration. Phil Barela, the project manager for NISAR, stated during a media conference that he anticipated the launch of the ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-II carrying NISAR (spelt ‘Naisar’) ‘not earlier than January’ from SDSC, Sriharikota. Every 12 days, the three-year mission will survey the entire land and ice-covered surface of the Earth. This will begin following a 90-day satellite commissioning period.
Ladakh skies mysteriously turn red
Images of a rare redness in the skies were taken by the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) in Hanle and Merak, Ladakh, in an unexpected but breath-taking celestial event. The unusual spectacle of red-coloured auroral activity that began on November 5 was ascribed to a Stable Auroral Red (SAR) event, a rare atmospheric phenomenon that contrasts the more common green and blue curtains of light typically associated with auroras at higher latitudes with vivid red skies. A geomagnetic storm—a significant disruption of the Earth’s magnetosphere brought on by a solar storm—caused the SAR event.
Soft soil in Gangetic plains amplified by Nepal earthquakes
Seismologists noted that the Gangetic plains are affected by earthquakes that strike Nepal because the region’s soft soil magnifies seismic energy that originates from the Himalayan belt. A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 struck Nepal on the evening of November 3, causing tremors to reverberate throughout north India, including the Delhi-NCR region. The epicentre of the earthquake, which occurred at around 11.30 p.m. in Nepal, was around 227 kilometres north of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and 331 km west-northwest of Kathmandu, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).
ISRO welcomes concepts and designs for robotic rovers
Through the holding of a space competition, ISRO has sought creative designs and ideas for robotic rovers from the young for use in upcoming missions. ISRO announced that it is preparing for further robotic exploration missions to the moon and other celestial bodies following the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram lander on the lunar surface and the exploration near the moon’s southern pole. The national space agency, which has its headquarters here, stated that it is dedicated to providing business and academia with special chances to engage in technology development initiatives that align with organisational goals.
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International Science Roundup
By 2024, Virgin Galactic plans space mission for tourists
Virgin Galactic, the forerunner in space tourism, has declared that it will stop operating suborbital flights by the middle of 2024 and scale back its frequency of operations. The decision was made as the business refocuses on creating its next-generation vehicles, dubbed the Delta-class, according to SpaceNews. In the November 8 announcement, it was disclosed that the next mission of Virgin Galactic, Galactic 06, in January 2024, would mark the start of the suborbital vehicle, VSS Unity, on a quarterly flight schedule.
Webb, Hubble join hands to find 14 bright objects
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have teamed up in a ground-breaking partnership to investigate a massive galaxy cluster and present the universe’s most vibrant image. Combining visible and infrared light, a picture of the galaxy cluster MACS0416 has been obtained, providing one of the most complete images of the universe to date. MACS0416 is a pair of colliding galaxy clusters that will eventually merge to form an even larger cluster. It is situated at a distance of roughly 4.3 billion light years from the Earth. Numerous galaxies outside of the cluster and sources that change over time, probably as a result of gravitational lensing—the distortion and amplification of light from far-off background sources—are among the many details that can be seen in the image.
Juno reveals Jupiter’s distinct wind pattern
A recent paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy details a ground breaking discovery about Jupiter’s atmospheric winds made by NASA’s Juno mission. According to Juno’s data, these winds enter the planet parallel to its spin axis and in a cylindrical shape. This discovery advances our knowledge of Jupiter’s interior composition and may offer important new information about the atmospheres of other planets. Utilising a variety of scientific instruments, Juno has been circling Jupiter since 2016 in order to investigate the gas giant’s interior composition and atmosphere. This is accomplished, among other things, by radio science.
AI maps Antarctic icebergs in 0.01 seconds
Researchers at the University of Leeds have made a major advancement in the field by creating an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system that can quickly and accurately map vast areas of Antarctic icebergs in satellite photos. The labour-intensive manual methods previously employed are greatly outweighed by the AI system, which is based on a neural network and finishes the task in just 0.01 seconds. The study’s principal author, Anne Braakmann-Folgmann, carried out her investigation while pursuing doctorate at the University of Leeds. She is employed at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromso at the moment.
Australia’s driest October since 2002
Due to an El Nino weather pattern that has seen hot, dry conditions impact crop yields in one of the world’s largest wheat exporters, Australia saw its driest October in more than 20 years, the national weather bureau said on Wednesday. The Bureau of Meteorology stated in its regular drought report that October 2002 was Australia’s driest since 2002, with rainfall that was 65% less than the average for the years 1961 to 1990. It stated that October was the driest on record for Western Australia, the largest grain-exporting region in Australia, and that below-average rainfall was recorded throughout the country, with the exception of Victoria.
Scientists produce yeast strain with more than half synthetic DNA
A significant step towards the goal of producing complex cells with a fully synthetic genome has been taken by scientists who produced a yeast strain with a genome that contains over 50% synthetic DNA. The strain comprises 16 chromosomes, half of which were designed and made entirely from scratch. The remarkable achievement was made possible by the cooperation of the Sc2.0 consortium, a collection of laboratories that has been working for the past 15 years to produce a yeast strain with a completely synthetic genome. A number of papers published in the journals Cell and Cell Genomics have detailed their most recent accomplishment.
Continent missing for 155 million years found
A new study claims that the continent of Argoland, which appeared to vanish after breaking away from Australia 155 million years ago, has finally been found. It has long been known by scientists that a landmass split off from Australia millions of years ago. But until now, scientists had been unable to determine Argoland’s final location. The mysterious landmass that lies beneath Southeast Asia’s eastern islands may have finally been discovered, according to researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
