NASA's Hubble Telescope Maps Giant Halo Around Andromeda Galaxy
In a landmark study, scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have mapped the immense envelope of gas, called a halo, surrounding the Andromeda galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbor. Scientists were surprised to find that this tenuous, nearly invisible halo of diffuse plasma extends 1.3 million light-years from the galaxy—about halfway to our Milky Way—and as far as 2 million light-years in some directions. This means that Andromeda's halo is already bumping into the halo of our own galaxy.
They also found that the halo has a layered structure, with two main nested and distinct shells of gas. This is the most comprehensive study of a halo surrounding a galaxy.
Understanding the huge halos of gas surrounding galaxies is immensely important. This reservoir of gas contains fuel for future star formation within the galaxy, as well as outflows from events such as supernovae. It's full of clues regarding the past and future evolution of the galaxy.
A signature of this activity is the team's discovery of a large amount of heavy elements in the gaseous halo of Andromeda. Heavier elements are cooked up in the interiors of stars and then ejected into space—sometimes violently as a star dies. The halo is then contaminated with this material from stellar explosions.
The Andromeda galaxy, also known as M31, is a majestic spiral of perhaps as many as 1 trillion stars and comparable in size to our Milky Way. At a distance of 2.5 million light-years, it is so close to us that the galaxy appears as a cigar-shaped smudge of light high in the autumn sky.
Aug 28, 2020
IIT Alumni Council to Build World's Largest & Fastest Hybrid Quantum Computer
The Indian Institute of Technology's Alumni Council signed an agreement with Lomonosov Moscow State University and Russoft to access and transfer key technologies from Russia to build the world's largest and fastest hybrid quantum computer in India.
The objective of the agreement is to use technology in the areas of healthcare, agriculture, transport and logistics, pollution and weather forecast to achieve the mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The agreement with Russia is the first step to aggregate global key technologies from front runners.
Under the agreement, the Russian state-owned companies will transfer critical modules in cryogenics, cryptography and modularised cloud management technology to IIT Alumni Council. The deal with the companies, which are key Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) owners, are part of the Quantum Mission.
Quantum Computing, which is several million times faster than the largest supercomputer in India, will make existing supercomputers obsolete.
Aug 27, 2020
Astronaut Jeanette Epps to Become First Black Woman to Join ISS Crew
Astronaut Jeanette Epps is set to create history by becoming the first black woman to serve as an International Space Station (ISS) crew member. Epss has been selected by NASA for a 2021 mission aboard Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
According to NASA, Epps will join astronauts Sunita Williams and Josh Cassada for a six-month expedition to the ISS.
The first operational crewed flight of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is likely to takeoff in 2021 and it will follow NASA certification after a successful uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 and Crew Flight Test with astronauts.
Aug 25, 2020
China Launches Fifth Gaofen-9 Series Earth Observation Satellite
China launched its latest Gaofen-9 Earth observation satellite and two smaller payloads from the Jiuquan launch center.
The Long March 2D rocket carrying the satellites lifted off from Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) confirmed (Chinese) the launch, mission success and the payloads.
The Gaofen-9 (05) optical remote sensing satellite follows the launch of the third Gaofen-9 satellite in June and the fourth earlier this month. Previous satellites were capable of providing sub-meter resolution imagery.
Also sent into orbit was Tiantuo-5, a small satellite developed by the National University of Defense Technology. Tiantuo satellites are experimental satellites carrying remote sensing and other payloads including AIS receivers.
The Aerospace Dongfanghong Satellite Co., Ltd, part of China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a major CASC subsidiary, developed the Gaofen-9 satellite. Another CASC entity, the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) provided the Long March 2D launcher.
Gaofen satellites are nominally part of the civilian China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS). Land surveying, urban planning, road network design, agriculture and disaster relief are noted as the major uses of Gaofen satellites.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Shiv Nadar University claim to have developed a technology for production of environment friendly Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries which will be three times more energy efficient and cost effective than Lithium-ion batteries commonly used at present.
According to the team, the Li-S battery technology leverages principles of green chemistry, incorporating usage of by-products from the petroleum industry (Sulfur), agro-waste elements and copolymers such as cardanol (a by-product of cashew nut processing) and eugenol (clove oil) as cathodic materials.
The researchers said the technology has the potential to aid multi-billion dollar industries including tech gadgets, drones, electric vehicles (EV) and several more that depend on such batteries.
Lochab's team has partnered with Sagar Mitra, IIT Bombay's Professor in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, to use the research for the development of a Li-S battery prototype.
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