General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Feb 01, 2022

Massive Gas Giant Found Circling TOI-2180

A team of professional astronomers and citizen scientists discovered a giant exoplanet orbiting the G5-type star TOI-2180.
TOI-2180 is a bright, slightly evolved G5 star about 380 light-years away in the constellation of Draco.
Otherwise known as TIC 298663873, HD 238894 or SAO 31031, it hosts at least one planet.
Named TOI-2180b, the alien world has the same diameter as Jupiter, but is 2.8 times more massive.
TOI-2180b is special because it takes 260.8 days to complete a journey around its star, a relatively long time compared to many known gas giants outside our Solar System.
The planet also contains 105 times the mass of Earth in elements heavier than helium and hydrogen.

SpaceX launches Italian Earth-observation Satellite

SpaceX launched the Italian Earth-observation satellite after scrubbing the scheduled liftoff for the fourth time in a row. The latest call-off was due to the presence of a ship in the "no-go zone" at Cape Canaveral ahead of the launch.
The Constellation of Small Satellites for the Mediterranean basin Observation (COSMO)-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) is the follow-on mission to COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) satellite, which will monitor the Earth and provide data risk management, cartography, forest & environment protection, natural resources exploration, land management, defence and security, maritime surveillance, food & agriculture management. The system consists of two satellites, which are designed to observe Earth using synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

Jan 30, 2022

Astronomers Detect Titanium Oxide and Several Metals in Atmosphere of WASP-189b

The temperature of a planet's atmosphere decreases with increasing altitude, unless a shortwave absorber that causes a temperature inversion exists. Ozone plays this role in the Earth's atmosphere. In the atmospheres of highly irradiated exoplanets, the shortwave absorbers are predicted to be titanium oxide and vanadium oxide. Using high-resolution transmission spectroscopy, astronomers have now detected titanium oxide in the atmosphere of the ultrahot Jupiter WASP-189b. Moreover, they have detected metals, including neutral and singly ionized iron and titanium, as well as chromium, magnesium, vanadium and manganese.
WASP-189 is a 730-million-year-old A-type star located 322 light-years away in the constellation of Libra.
Also known as HD 133112, the star is larger and more than 2,000 degrees Celsius hotter than the Sun, and so appears to glow blue.
Discovered in 2018, WASP-189b is a transiting gas giant about 1.6 times the radius of Jupiter.

Jan 29, 2022

NASA's Mars Orbiter Finds Water Flowed on Red Planet Longer than Thought

It is commonly believed that water on Mars evaporated about 3 billion years ago.
But two scientists studying data from NASA`s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter found signs of liquid water on the Red Planet as recently as 2 billion to 2.5 billion years ago, meaning water flowed there about a billion years longer than previous estimates.
The findings centre on the chloride salt deposits left behind as icy meltwater flowing across the landscape evaporated.
While the shape of certain valley networks hinted that water may have flowed on Mars recently, the salt deposits provide the first mineral evidence confirming the presence of liquid water.

Jan 26, 2022

Facebook Parent Meta Creates Powerful AI Supercomputer

Facebook's parent company Meta created what it believes is among the fastest artificial intelligence supercomputers running today.
The social media giant hopes the machine will help lay the groundwork for its building of the metaverse, a virtual reality construct intended to supplant the internet as we know it today.
Supercomputers are extremely fast and powerful machines built to do complex calculations not possible with a regular home computer. Meta did not disclose where the computer is located or how much it is costing to build.
The computer, which is already up and running but is still being built, is called AI Research SuperCluster.

NASA`s James Webb Space Telescope Reaches Gravitational Parking Spot

The James Webb Space Telescope arrived at its cosmic parking spot a million miles away, bringing it a step closer to its mission to unravel the mysteries of the Universe.
The observatory reached the so-called second Lagrange point, or L2, where it will have access to nearly half the sky at any given moment.
At L2, it will stay in line with the Earth as it moves around the Sun, allowing Webb's sunshield to protect its sensitive equipment from heat and light.

Jan 25, 2022

India among Top 10 AI Adopters

India is among the top 10 nations in the world in terms of technological advancements and funding in artificial intelligence, according to findings from a study published by The Brookings Institution. While India is outside the top 10 in terms of commercial and research initiatives, it ranks sixth in terms of spending and investments on AI made by public, governmental initiatives, as well as private institutes and organisations.
The nations leading AI achievements ahead of India are the US, China, the UK, France, Japan and Germany. Canada, South Korea and Italy are behind India in the top 10 AI adopters list, as per the study.

Hubble Spots Beautiful Trio of Galaxies

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of a group of three galaxies, collectively known as NGC 7764A.
NGC 7764A is a fascinating example of just how awkward astronomical nomenclature can be.
The three galaxies are individually referred to as NGC 7764A1, NGC 7764A2 and NGC 7764A3, and just to be really difficult, an entirely separate galaxy, named NGC 7764, sits in the skies about a Moon's distance (as seen from Earth) away.
NGC 7764A is located approximately 425 million light-years away in the constellation of Phoenix. NGC 7764A is located approximately 425 million light-years away in the constellation of Phoenix.

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