The International Astronomical Union (IAU), an organisation which assigns official names and designations to celestial bodies, has confirmed the discovery of 18 new asteroids by Indian students as part of a global science programme.
The International Asteroid Discovery Project was conducted by STEM and Space, an organisation working towards the learning of astronomy and space science in India, along with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) as part of a NASA citizen science project.
Over the last two years, 150 students from all around India participated in this two month long campaign to find asteroids, making this the largest asteroid discovery project in India, Mila Mitra, Co-founder and Academic Head of STEM and Space.
In the project, the students from India and across the globe analysed the high quality astronomical data provided by IASC -- an online scientific program for kids to discover Asteroids and Near Earth Objects (NEO).
NEOs are rocky objects in an orbit between Mars and Jupiter, which pose a challenge to Earth as they may get perturbed out of their orbit and pose a threat of impact.
Russia Launches Satellite to Monitor Climate and Environment in the Arctic
Russia launched its space satellite Arktika-M on a mission to monitor the climate and environment in the Arctic amid a push by the Kremlin to expand the country's activities in the region.
The Arctic has warmed more than twice as fast as the global average over the last three decades and Moscow is seeking to develop the energy-rich region, investing in the Northern Sea Route for shipping across its long northern flank as ice melts.
The satellite successfully reached its intended orbit after being launched from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome by a Soyuz rocket.
Feb 27, 2021
ISRO Completes Launch Rehearsal of PSLV-C51 Mission
The Indian Space Research Organisation completed launch rehearsal of the PSLV-C51 mission slated for February 28.
India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C51) is scheduled to launch Brazil's Amazonia-1 as primary satellite and 18 co-passenger satellites from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharkota, about 100 km from Chennai.
The Bengaluru-headquartered space agency had announced on February 5 that there would be 20 co-passenger satellites.
Indian Space start-up Pixxel announced two days ago that due to "certain software issues" its first satellite 'Anand' would no longer be part of the payload on board the PSLV-C51 rocket.
Feb 24, 2021
Scientists Develop Lead-free Material to Convert Waste Heat to Electricity
Indian scientists have found a new lead-free material which can efficiently convert waste heat to power small home appliances and automobiles.
So far, most of the efficient thermoelectric materials developed by scientists use lead as a major constituent element, thereby restricting their use for mass-market applications.
Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru, have identified a lead-free material called 'Cadmium doped Silver Antimony Telluride' which can efficiently allow recovery of electricity from 'waste heat', marking a paradigm shift in the thermoelectric puzzle.
Feb 23, 2021
Astronomers Find the Fastest Spinning Black Hole to Date
Six decades after its discovery, the first black hole ever detected is still causing astronomers to scratch their heads. It turns out that the cosmic behemoth at the heart of the Cygnus X-1 system is 50% more massive than previously thought, making it the heaviest stellar-mass black hole ever observed directly.
Based on new observations, an international team of researchers estimates the black hole is 21 times the mass of our sun and spinning faster than any other known black hole. The recalculated weight is causing scientists to rethink how bright stars that turn into black holes evolve, and how fast they shed their skins before they die.
Feb 22, 2021
Chandrayaan-3 Launch Delayed Further to 2022
Chandrayaan-3, India's third mission to Moon, is likely to be launched in 2022, ISRO chief K. Sivan has said.
The COVID-19 lockdown has hit several projects of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) including Chandrayaan-3, which was scheduled to be launched in late 2020, and Gaganyaan, the country's first manned space mission.
Unlike its predecessor, Chandrayaan-3 will not have an orbiter.
Chandrayaan-3 is critical for ISRO as it will demonstrate India's capabilities to make landing for further interplanetary missions.
ISS Launch Honours ''Hidden Figures'' Mathematician Katherine Johnson
A space station supply ship named after the Black NASA mathematician featured in the movie Hidden Figures rocketed into orbit Sunday, the 59th anniversary of John Glenn's historic launch.
Northrop Grumman's Cygnus capsule dubbed the S.S. Katherine Johnson should reach the International Space Station on 22-2-2021following its launch from Virginia's eastern shore.
Johnson died almost exactly a year ago at age 101.
Mrs. Johnson was selected for her hand-written calculations that helped launch the first Americans into space, as well as her accomplishments in breaking glass ceiling after glass ceiling as a Black woman, Frank DeMauro, a Northrop Grumman vice president, said on the eve of lift off. A homework assignment for all of you is to go watch that movie after the Cygnus launch.
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