Current Affair 1:

Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE)

 

NASA is set to launch the Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) to study ‘airglow’ to understand space weather.

AWE will be mounted on the exterior of the space station. AWE will stare down toward Earth, tracking undulations (उतार-चढ़ाव, लहराना) in the air known as atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs).

Primarily originating in the lowest level of the atmosphere, AGWs may be caused by strong weather events such as tornadoes, hurricanes, or even thunderstorms. These weather events can momentarily push pockets of high-density air upwards into the atmosphere before the air sinks back down. This up-and-down often leaves behind distinctive ripples patterns in the clouds.

AWE will measure AGWs at an atmospheric layer that begins some 54 miles (87 kilometers) in altitude, known as the mesopause. This is the first time that AGWs, especially the small-scale ones, will be measured globally at the mesopause, the gateway to the space.

Application:

AGWs are revealed by colourful bands of light in our atmosphere known as airglow. AWE will “see” these waves by recording variations of airglow in infrared light, a wavelength range too long for human eyes to see.

By watching that infrared airglow grow brighter and dimmer as waves move through it, AWE will enable scientists to compute the size, power, and dispersion of AGWs like never before. It was also designed to see smaller AGWs, detecting short-scale ripples in airglow that previous missions would miss.

AWE will be able to resolve waves at finer horizontal scales than what satellites can usually see at those altitudes, which is part of what makes the mission unique.

Current Affair 2:

What is tantalum, the rare metal found in Sutlej?

 

News:

Tantalum is a rare metal with the atomic number 73 — the number of protons found in one atom of the element. It’s grey, heavy, very hard, and one of the most corrosion-resistant metals in use today. It possesses high corrosion resistance because when exposed to air, it forms an oxide layer that is extremely difficult to remove, even when it interacts with strong and hot acid environments.

When pure, tantalum is ductile, meaning it can be stretched, pulled, or drawn into a thin wire or thread without breaking. Moreover, it “is almost completely immune to chemical attack at temperatures below 150°C, and is attacked only by hydrofluoric acid, acidic solutions containing the fluoride ion, and free sulphur trioxide.

What are the uses of tantalum?

1. Tantalum is most prominently used in the electronics sector. The capacitors made from tantalum can store more electricity in smaller sizes without much leakage than any other type of capacitor. This makes them ideal for use in portable electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, and digital cameras.
2. As tantalum has a high melting point, it is frequently used as a substitute for platinum, which is more expensive.
3. The rare metal is also used to make components for chemical plants, nuclear power plants, aeroplanes, and missiles.
4. Tantalum does not react with bodily fluids and is used to make surgical equipment and implants, like artificial joints.

Current Affair 3:

Self-Assessment, Test and Help for Entrance Exams (SATHEE)

 

SATHEE is an initiative by the Ministry of Education to give students free learning and assessment platform. The preparation material will be available in English, Hindi and other regional languages of India to prepare for competitive exams like JEE and NEET.

 

Current Affair 4:

What is Cosmic Vine?

 

News:

An international team of scientists have discovered an enormous structure which is home to at least 20 massive galaxies. The structure, dubbed ‘Cosmic Vine’, is said to be about 13 million light-years long and 0.65 million light-years wide. It is so massive that it makes our galaxy, the Milky Way, sound like a negligible speck of dust in the vast cosmos.

What makes this discovery significant?

Cosmic Vine is an extremely long and large structure which is also home to two of the most massive galaxies ever found at such a high redshift – Galaxy A and Galaxy E.

Massive and dense structures of galaxies like the Cosmic Vine are perceived as precursors to galaxy clusters which are the biggest gravitationally bound systems in the universe.

Therefore, the study suggests that since Cosmic Vine is not a virialized system, it is on its way to becoming a galaxy cluster and scientists believe that it might provide insights into the formation of such clusters and the emergence of massive galaxies within them.

(Virialized means a system of gravitationally interacting particles that is stable. The small structures interact with each other, but the cluster doesn't expand or collapse. A system is virialized when de the potential energy is twice the negative kinetic energy.)

Current Affair 5:

Ladakh secures 4th GI tag for Sea Buckthorn

 

News:

Ladakh’s Sea Buckthorn fruit will now get a unique identity in the country and abroad as it gets a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

This would be the fourth GI Tag for Ladakh.

Earlier, Ladakh Pashmina, Apricot (Raktse Carpo species) and Ladakhi wood carvings have also got GI tags.

Sea Buckthorn is the second fruit of Ladakh which is getting special recognition in the form of a GI tag.

Special feature of this fruit:

1. Sea Buckthorn is a wonder plant of Ladakh and named ‘Leh Berry’ produces small orange- or yellow-coloured berries which are sour in taste but rich in vitamins, especially Vitamin C.
2. Many Sea Buckthorn products have nutritional and medicinal value.
3. It is naturally distributed over 11,500 hectares in the Ladakh region.
4. The shrub can withstand extreme temperatures from minus 43 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius and is considered drought-resistant.
5. These two characteristics make the shrub an ideal plant species to establish in cold deserts.

<< Previous Next >>