oston, found a population off the northwest coast of Madagascar, where he works, and compiled reports of sightings from Japan, Australia, Brazil and off the coasts of Indonesia, among others. In total, from photographs, audio recordings, museums and documents, he identified 161 accounts of Omura’s whales in 95 locales.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/19394-an-elusive-whale-is-found-all-around-the-world
#Omura #whale #whales #science #Indonesia #HongKong

Vikram goes silent
ISRO has lost contact with Chandrayaan 2’s lander Vikram and rover Pragyan on 7 September 2019. Earlier in the day, ground stations lost contact with the lander during its powered descent to the lunar surface minutes before the planned touch-down.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21417-vikram-goes-silent
#Vikram #Chandrayaan2 #ISRO #LOI #PSLVC11 #KSivan #Pragyan

Disturbed Area tag in Assam extended
Despite demand from several quarters to remove, Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 Assam government as per Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, has declared the entire State of Assam as “Disturbed Area for another six month.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21416-disturbed-area-tag-in-assam-extended
#Assam #CAPF #AFSPA #ULFA #SupremeCourt #ArmedForces

India, South Korea ink deal for Navy
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his South Korean counterpart Jeong Kyeongdoo. They comprehensively reviewed bilateral defence cooperation and signed two agreements to expand defence educational exchanges and extend logistical support to each other’s navies.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21415-india-south-korea-ink-deal-for-navy
#India #Navy #RajnathSingh #ROK #SouthKorea

Subsea science observatory vanishes
A German research organization is searching, so far in vain, for an underwater environmental monitoring station that was moored on the sea bed and went missing last month.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21414-subsea-science-observatory-vanishes
#German #CH4 #observatory #organization #science #greenhouse #gas

Strengthen collaboration in science and tech
India and Canada discuss ways to ramp up cooperation in science and technology by strengthening existing international connections, sharing best practices, and initiating new collaborations between governments and institutions, a statement said.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/24934-strengthen-collaboration-in-science-and-tech.html
#Strengthencollaboration #science #Canada #India #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses

Gender equity in science
One of the focuses of the new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP), 2020 currently being drafted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), will be to increase the participation of women in science.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/27331-gender-equity-in-science.html
#STIP #DST #science #UPSCOnlineClasses #OnlineClassses #IASOnlineclasses #ksgnews

Watch: Centre State Science Conclave
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Le8QbyOLmX4

Watch: Engineered Mosquitoes Produced by Scientists, KSG India
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Tp0KjH7f5sA

Today's Headlines - 24 July 2023
India’s first ‘satellite network portal site’
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

The Gujarat government through its Department of Science and Technology (DST) signed a memorandum of understanding with OneWeb India Communications Pvt Ltd for setting up a ‘satellite network portal site’ — a first for India — at Mehsana in Gujarat.

What is the Satellite network portal site?

Satellite broadband technology or satellite telephony is not a new concept and with satellite constellations in the low Earth orbit (LEO) gaining traction with StarLink, Kuiper and OneWeb among many others, the world is increasingly moving towards relying on LEO satellite communications.
LEO satellites operate at an altitude of 500 to 1,200 km, making it ripe for high-speed and low latency — a lower time lag between a user seeking data, and the server sending that data, compared to geostationary Earth orbit positioned satellites.
OneWeb has 648 satellites orbiting at 1,000-1,200 km making 13 orbits per day, covering the entire globe.
The satellite network portal (SNP) site will serve as a signal and data downlink and uplink terminal or base station on the ground, an intermediary for data transmission through satellite tracking antenna systems.
OneWeb India Communications plans to invest up to Rs 100 crore in this project, which would, according to the Gujarat government, create 500 direct and indirect jobs, including jobs requiring telecom, electronics and instrumentation engineers.
Apart from civil infrastructure, setting up an SNP like this will also require a slew of regulatory approvals from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and spectrum allocation from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Earlier, HCIPL and OneWeb, in January 2022, announced a strategic six-year Distribution Partner agreement to provide low Earth orbit (LEO) connectivity services across India, to deliver services to enterprises and government with OneWeb capacity, especially in areas outside the reach of fibre connectivity.

#upsc #news #todayheadline #india #satellite #network #portalsite #spacetechnology #gujarat #government #science #DST #oneweb #communications #mehsana #telephony #constellation #LEO #earth #starlink #kuiper #geostationary #SNP #terminal #INSPACE #fibre #connectivity #strategic #telecomregulatory

Today's Headlines - 13 August 2023
India's first Agricultural Data Exchange (ADeX)
GS Paper - 3 (Economy)

The government of Telangana, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) launched India's first Agricultural Data Exchange (ADeX) in Hyderabad. The Telangana government also launched the Agriculture Data Management Framework (ADMF) - a framework for facilitating consent-based responsible data sharing.

More about Exchange

Developed as a digital public infrastructure (DPI) for the agriculture sector, ADeX is an open-source, open-standard, and interoperable public good.
The software platform facilitates a secure, standards-based exchange of data between agricultural data users (agri application developers) and agricultural data providers (government agencies, private companies, NGOs, universities, etc.).
ADMF is applicable to all government departments dealing with agricultural activities, as well as, all agriculture information users and providers. The framework provides a grievance redressal mechanism.
Both ADeX and ADMF provide the right platform to ensure fair and efficient usage of agricultural data by the industry and startups and provide a big boost to the data economy specifically in the agriculture sector.
These initiatives help Telangana lead the country in using innovation and technology to drive food systems transformation and improve the livelihoods of farmers."
Data and digital ecosystems are critical for responsible innovation in the agriculture sector.
The agriculture data exchange and the agriculture data management framework highlight the power of multi-stakeholder communities and collective action in addressing complex challenges in the agriculture sector.

#upsc #news #headline #india #agricultural #data #exchange #ADEX #economy #world #economic #forum #institute #science #IISC #ADMF #DPI #digital #grievance #mechanism #NGO #privatecompanies #universities #agencies #mechanism #software #technology #telangana #ecosystems #sector #data

Today's Headlines - 13 August 2023
Fifth Force of Nature discovered
GS Paper - 3 (Science and Technology)

Scientists at the Fermilab situated near Chicago have claimed to have discovered a new force or the fifth force of nature. If proven, this may be the beginning of a new revolution in physics and could prove to be the most significant discovery after Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

What is the Fifth Force of Nature?

The entire universe is governed by four forces- gravity, electromagnetism, the weak force, and the strong force. Now, scientists claim to have found a new force or the fifth force.
How was the Fifth Force of Nature discovered?

In an experiment called ‘g-2’ or ‘g minus 2’ at Fermilab, the researchers accelerated sub-atomic particles called muons through a 50-meter diameter ring and circulated these particles 1,000 times at near light speed and found that these particles did not behave the way they should.
Their behaviour cannot be explained by the current theory called the Standard Model because these particles were under the influence of a new force.
Muons are electron-like sub-atomic particles that orbit atoms, but they are 200 times bigger.
In the experiment, they were made to wobble using superconducting magnets. But they wobbled faster than predicted by the Standard Model. This might be caused by a new force or the fifth force.
The scientists at Europe’s Large Hadron Collider are also trying to find flaws in the Standard Model.
Dr. Mitesh Patel from Imperial College London is one of those thousands of scientists who are working at the LHC, trying to find experimental results showing the flaws in the Standard Model.
The measuring behaviour that does not comply with the Standard Model is the holy grail of particle physics and it may trigger a revolution that may begin a new understanding of physics.

#upsc #news #headline #fifth #force #nature #discovered #science #technology #fermilab #force #universe #strongforce #europe #imperialcollegelondon #physics #hadron #muons #diameter #eletro #ALBERTEINSTEIN #theory #minus #speed #orbit #atoms #trigger #magnetism #atomic

The 640-page NCF, an update on the draft released in April, was developed by a 13-member steering committee led by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan.

#upsc #news #headline #national #curriculim #NCF #education #indian #school #vision #national #policy #interdisciplinarity #proposals #preparatory #secondary #grades #middlestage #nativetoindia #mathematics #arteducation #physical #enviromental #subjects #period #communication #writingskills #local #global #twolanguages #mandatory #history #journalism #semestersystem #bank #comprehensive #annualsystem #NCERT #development #academicsession #NEP #NCF #kKasturirangan #ISRO #commerce #science #humanities #english #sanskrit

Today's Headlines - 01 September 2023
Super Blue Moon of Raksha Bandhan
GS Paper - 3 (Science and Technology)

The Raksha Bandhan full moon on 30-31 August was unusual: it was both a “blue moon” and a “super moon” and therefore, a “Super Blue Moon”, a rare trifecta of astronomical events.

What is a supermoon?

The orbit of the moon around the earth is not circular; it is elliptical, that is, an elongated or stretched-out circle. It takes the moon 27.3 days to orbit the earth.
It is 29.5 days from new moon to new moon, though. This is because while the moon is orbiting the earth, both the earth and the moon are also moving around the sun — and it takes additional time for the sun to light up the moon in the same way as it does at the beginning of every revolution around the earth.
The new moon is the opposite of the full moon — it is the darkest part of the moon’s invisible phase, when its illuminated side is facing away from the earth.
The point closest to earth in the moon’s elliptical orbit is called perigee, and the point that is farthest is called apogee.
A super moon happens when the moon is passing through or is close to its perigee, and is also a full moon. (This happens with a new moon as well, just that it is not visible.
A full moon occurs when the moon is directly opposite the sun (as seen from earth), and therefore, has its entire day side lit up. The full moon appears as a brilliant circle in the sky that rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. The moon appears ‘full’ not just on Purnima, but also on the night before and after the full moon night.
What is a blue moon?

Though the expression “once in a blue moon” implies a rare or unusual occurrence, a blue moon is not that rare an astronomical phenomenon.
There are a couple of definitions of a blue moon, but the one that is most commonly understood — and is endorsed by NASA — describes the situation when a full moon is seen twice in a single month.
Because the new moon to new moon cycle lasts 29.5 days, a time comes when the full moon occurs at the beginning of a month, and there are days left still for another full cycle to be completed.
Such a month, in which the full moon is seen on the 1st or 2nd, will have a second full moon on the 30th or 31st. According to NASA, this happens every two or three years.
The first full moon of August 2023 occurred on 1 August. That was also a super moon, but the super moon of 30-31 August will be bigger because the moon is now closer to the perigee.
Will the moon actually appear blue?

No. Sometimes, smoke or dust in the air can scatter red wavelengths of light, as a result of which the moon may, in certain places, appear more blue than usual. But this has nothing to do with the name “blue” moon.
Speaking of colours, you may have noticed that the moon appears more yellow/ orange when it is lower in the sky (closer to the horizon).
This is because moonlight travels for longer through the atmosphere at this stage, and along the way, more of the shorter, bluer wavelengths of light are scattered, leaving more of the longer, redder wavelengths.
NASA points out that dust or pollution can end up deepening the reddish colour of the moon.

#upsc #news #headline #superbluemoon #rakshabandhan #science #technology #fullmoon #supermoon #trifecta #astronomicalevents #orbit #earth #newmoon #ellipticalorbit #apogee #purnima #phenomenon #air #wavelength #yellow #orange #atmosphere #NASA #dust #pollution #reddishcolour