tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3641753257868031052024-03-18T16:18:54.706+05:30CURRENT AFFAIRS (CA) DAILY UPDATESwww.universalcurrentaffairs.comCurrent Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.comBlogger7606125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-88059774404133823072024-03-11T23:18:00.011+05:302024-03-12T23:22:34.108+05:30SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts undock from the ISS for March 12 return to Earth.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuNh3ggrM7fkTAZZGP8Bpk7sNQ3Ejz96wBU_MywohAGTNhBhc6gNyDuRAUIa9v_u5-ocsR6-2KSseqYjkI1WyPJ9WlOWiwuU2FZh2DO955LfzOsnDGzTdKLI9S2eIF_-ER-PJilKt_UgJgR0lBD0-fpR-ccPR56qsEnlUqRV4UY8pq0b_OLsI2A3hB6U/s600/unnamed.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihuNh3ggrM7fkTAZZGP8Bpk7sNQ3Ejz96wBU_MywohAGTNhBhc6gNyDuRAUIa9v_u5-ocsR6-2KSseqYjkI1WyPJ9WlOWiwuU2FZh2DO955LfzOsnDGzTdKLI9S2eIF_-ER-PJilKt_UgJgR0lBD0-fpR-ccPR56qsEnlUqRV4UY8pq0b_OLsI2A3hB6U/w400-h266/unnamed.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Four astronauts left their orbiting home today (March 11) to return to Earth.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">SpaceX Crew-7 and its four astronauts undocked from the International Space Station at 11:20 a.m. EDT (1520 GMT), with their departure carried live on NASA Television. The undocking took place over Hawaii, according to NASA's broadcast.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The international crew includes NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. Their mission will last 199 days, assuming an on-time splashdown tomorrow (March 12).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-7-iss-undocking-webcast?utm_term=1D64AB8E-6EDB-4532-9C00-61DE34DE5D3B&lrh=5e7f132a1133c41e1d944ba0438bef42fbda7f416902bdf97b569b2073cb33ec&utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9&utm_medium=email&utm_content=3D919602-58A1-4395-89E2-3E5D20861CDF&utm_source=SmartBrief" target="_blank">www.space.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-17931199341085462722024-03-08T21:45:00.002+05:302024-03-09T21:49:11.214+05:305,800 pounds of batteries tossed off the ISS in 2021 will fall to Earth today.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlQkvJwJo72upOcU-ujwMmXSpvxwCmAYP9nD6-mMC29eDLfRNHolET4twY79F6M2M4n9YppHxjuouAVFCX1RJRBwDFPh-LQBvKTFcVtT0esdLvJzK1mm1BoZafwN3obaZsxJPEy0yrKVmaniN_A6D89AmCTL6gWe31woyR0c4prvvyvx0zN1YaCmZ6S8/s650/Blue%20and%20Gold%20Snowflake%20Storage%20Label%20(4).png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="650" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJlQkvJwJo72upOcU-ujwMmXSpvxwCmAYP9nD6-mMC29eDLfRNHolET4twY79F6M2M4n9YppHxjuouAVFCX1RJRBwDFPh-LQBvKTFcVtT0esdLvJzK1mm1BoZafwN3obaZsxJPEy0yrKVmaniN_A6D89AmCTL6gWe31woyR0c4prvvyvx0zN1YaCmZ6S8/w400-h225/Blue%20and%20Gold%20Snowflake%20Storage%20Label%20(4).png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A nearly 3-ton leftover tossed overboard from the International Space Station is nearing its plunge toward Earth.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The multi-ton Exposed Pallet 9 (EP9) was jettisoned from the space station back in March 2021. At the time, it was reported to be the most massive object ever tossed overboard from the International Space Station. Disposing of used or unnecessary equipment in such a way is common practice aboard the space station, as the objects typically burn up harmlessly in Earth's atmosphere. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">According to a social media post by astronomer Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the battery should reenter between 7:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT) on March 9 and 3:30 a.m. ET (0830 UTC) on March 09.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.space.com/old-batteries-re-enter-atmosphere?utm_term=1D64AB8E-6EDB-4532-9C00-61DE34DE5D3B&lrh=5e7f132a1133c41e1d944ba0438bef42fbda7f416902bdf97b569b2073cb33ec&utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9&utm_medium=email&utm_content=040B2E53-8EB0-48B0-83A7-F1893031C3D4&utm_source=SmartBrief" target="_blank">www.space.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-26364769968986720432024-03-08T08:24:00.003+05:302024-03-08T08:24:27.287+05:30Arctic be ice-free within a decade. That's what the latest science says.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDPYL-6DqFdnLkfDNrUUwi-dXeplybUcAw7hL8_4ZPnSh6d1NDCSjeKWt1zMkrR7e2KWHeM3LoaJrtnG4m8p_BR7rMpuy1Nt0GbLowhIGDfGX7-Y7e00xdFD0UjWVHLD7dQlyXHC7jvYJYgjmIA4lXsiYpWa9VJV-YH8xEtorqNuFrzIxgraPT5rIItk/s1280/hb7uondg_polar-bear-melting-arctic-ice-pixabay_625x300_06_March_24.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="717" data-original-width="1280" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDPYL-6DqFdnLkfDNrUUwi-dXeplybUcAw7hL8_4ZPnSh6d1NDCSjeKWt1zMkrR7e2KWHeM3LoaJrtnG4m8p_BR7rMpuy1Nt0GbLowhIGDfGX7-Y7e00xdFD0UjWVHLD7dQlyXHC7jvYJYgjmIA4lXsiYpWa9VJV-YH8xEtorqNuFrzIxgraPT5rIItk/w400-h224/hb7uondg_polar-bear-melting-arctic-ice-pixabay_625x300_06_March_24.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Arctic could be "ice-free" in just a few years, scientists have found. Here's what that means. </span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The region, which sits at the northernmost point of the globe, is a unique ecosystem characterized by areas of permanent snow and ice. But, if the Earth continues to face damaging levels of emissions, the Arctic could see "summer days with practically no sea ice as early as the next couple of years," a new peer-reviewed study out of the University of Colorado Boulder revealed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">"The first ice-free day in the Arctic could occur over 10 years earlier than previous projections," the study, that was published Tuesday, added.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-family: helvetica;">What is an ice-free day?</span></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">To scientists, an ice-free day does not mean there is absolutely no ice in the water. Instead, the term is measured by the quantity of ice in the water below a certain threshold.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">According to researchers, the ocean is ice-free when it has less than 1 million square kilometers, or 386,000 square miles, of ice. That number represents less than 20% of the region's minimum ice cover in the 1980s.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When will the Arctic be ice-free?</span></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">"The first ice-free day in the Arctic could occur over 10 years earlier than previous projections," the study found.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Researchers predict that the first ice-free day will take place on a late August or early September day between the 2020s and 2030s under all emissions scenarios.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">By the middle of this century, scientists say it's likely the Arctic will have an ocean without floating ice for a whole month, during a September — when the region experiences its lowest amount of ice coverage.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">By the end of the century, the ice-free season could span several months in a year, even in winter months if high emissions become the norm.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-family: helvetica;">What is causing sea ice loss?</span></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Greenhouse gasses, according to study researcher Alexandra Jahn, associate professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at CU Boulder.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When snow and ice cover decrease, the heat absorbed from the sun by the ocean increases. As a result, ice melt and warming in the Arctic gets worse.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-family: helvetica;">What happens if the Arctic loses its ice?</span></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The loss of sea ice can disrupt the Arctic ecosystem in a number of ways, the study outlines.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Arctic animals, like polar bears and seals, could face challenges as they rely on ice for their survival. Additionally, non-native fish of invasive species may migrate to the warmer waters, having an impact on Arctic sea life.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The warming of water could also pose a threat to human communities living near the coastal region — as the ice melts and ocean waves grow larger, the coast could see dangerous erosion.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Can the loss of sea ice be prevented?</span></u></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Scientists do say there is hope for preserving the Arctic for as long as possible.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">"Even if ice-free conditions are unavoidable, we still need to keep our emissions as low as possible to avoid prolonged ice-free conditions," Jahn said. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If things continue as is, with intermediate emissions, the Arctic may only become ice-free for a few months, from August to October, researchers found. But, if things shift to the highest emissions scenario, the Arctic could be ice-free for up to nine months late this century.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">"This would transform the Arctic into a completely different environment," Jahn said, "From a white summer Arctic to a blue Arctic."</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The study also notes that "the Arctic is resilient and can return quickly if the atmosphere cools down." </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arctic-ice-free-within-decade-what-latest-science-says/" target="_blank">www.cbsnews.com</a></u></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-45043386005812919802024-03-06T14:42:00.003+05:302024-03-06T14:42:58.465+05:30Meta’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, went down.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgREz0wnT6fshQ8her2-3OlZdycYiOFH7LTHOR4IibckStxFQzIG6VqBTEy_GEEyl6osAzHw1abq6YlptZD-cydR6S7x8U6U9YqYVH_mOz3oqvU7Kxq2FLqV7aZbpYaz959gfZpRxZ2tBdHUoE25IYcLX2eesI-z0YiqJGwo0X5xKsX65D4iR1u43CyI/s305/download.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="165" data-original-width="305" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgREz0wnT6fshQ8her2-3OlZdycYiOFH7LTHOR4IibckStxFQzIG6VqBTEy_GEEyl6osAzHw1abq6YlptZD-cydR6S7x8U6U9YqYVH_mOz3oqvU7Kxq2FLqV7aZbpYaz959gfZpRxZ2tBdHUoE25IYcLX2eesI-z0YiqJGwo0X5xKsX65D4iR1u43CyI/w400-h216/download.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Meta’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, went down for thousands of users on Tuesday, because of what the company called a “technical issue.” The outage was resolved within around two hours.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As many as 500,000 Facebook users had reported issues logging in or accessing the site as of mid-morning Eastern Time on Tuesday, according to outage tracker Downdetector. Around 50,000 outage reports had been issued regarding Instagram and another 10,000 for Facebook Messenger, although the number of reports had already begun to fall within an hour after they began.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Some users found they had been logged out of their Facebook accounts. Others got notifications on Instagram that “something went wrong” and their feeds could not be loaded.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Threads, Meta’s competitor to Elon Musk’s X, also went down and showed users a popup that said “Something went wrong, please try again later” in place of their feed.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Meta’s status page on Tuesday showed “major disruptions” impacting Facebook login, as well as some other areas of the platform.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">About an hour and a half after the outage reports started ticking up, fewer than 80,000 people were reporting issues with Facebook, according to Downdetector. Reports about Instagram and Messenger had also dropped sharply. Downdetector is a measure of only the users who report issues, so the real number of affected users is likely higher.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Just after noon ET, Meta said it had resolved the issue.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/05/tech/facebook-instagram-outages/index.html" target="_blank">https://edition.cnn</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-87266432802270381672024-03-06T08:30:00.018+05:302024-03-08T08:38:25.383+05:30SpaceX's Crew-8 Dragon capsule docks at the ISS.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoZEPnxRI3FABOj7NhkrdfOHGWQesHJb4Kc16PjnGA5UN7otlafsVIIqBGMivMzTy6OJcMuYR9TM5hNE5L5GIa0N2abVOOR_oWOwSOGcfPrR8QOCuWGGM3y9_GHAj9YrtgsZzreuDCHafgEmvtay0ERv0JiQvhtG7XaT-N5nc4gLK8Buh1V0fQtXoI78/s970/UN2M7vDEfXAdVz8mZw4VSj-970-80.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="970" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsoZEPnxRI3FABOj7NhkrdfOHGWQesHJb4Kc16PjnGA5UN7otlafsVIIqBGMivMzTy6OJcMuYR9TM5hNE5L5GIa0N2abVOOR_oWOwSOGcfPrR8QOCuWGGM3y9_GHAj9YrtgsZzreuDCHafgEmvtay0ERv0JiQvhtG7XaT-N5nc4gLK8Buh1V0fQtXoI78/w400-h225/UN2M7vDEfXAdVz8mZw4VSj-970-80.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">SpaceX's Crew-8 astronaut mission arrived at the International Space Station early Tuesday morning (March 5).</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The mission's Dragon capsule, named Endeavour, docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday at 2:28 a.m. EST (0728 GMT). Dragon and the station were soaring above the central North Atlantic just east of New Foundland at the time.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Crew-8 sent NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeannette Epps and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin to the orbiting lab for a six-month stay. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The four-person Crew-8 launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday (March 3) at 10:53 p.m. EST (0353 GMT on March 4).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Dominick is Crew-8's commander, Barrett is the pilot, and Epps and Grebenkin are mission specialists. Are all spaceflight rookies except Barratt, who already had two orbital missions under his belt before this one.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The quartet will relieve the four astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-7 mission, who arrived at the ISS in August 2023 and will head home to Earth no earlier than March 11.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As its name suggests, Crew-8 is the eighth operational astronaut mission that SpaceX is flying to the ISS for NASA. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The agency signed a similar commercial-crew deal with aerospace giant Boeing, which aims to launch astronauts on its new Starliner capsule for the first time next month, on a trial mission called Crew Flight Test.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-8-iss-docking?utm_term=1D64AB8E-6EDB-4532-9C00-61DE34DE5D3B&lrh=5e7f132a1133c41e1d944ba0438bef42fbda7f416902bdf97b569b2073cb33ec&utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9&utm_medium=email&utm_content=E4D5BB89-B491-41D1-A9EF-8A6A7B984707&utm_source=SmartBrief" target="_blank">www.space.com</a></u></span></p><p><br /></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-14109827839964138992024-03-06T08:14:00.001+05:302024-03-08T08:17:09.400+05:30A man deliberately got 217 Covid shots. <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjruUM8tuY68CWTjUdJa798Liv5lecFfQNxuTYfquZcgxWumufTJxMru_70xwpkv0u1MdO5WdIvGn0odJhaCFYRJvRZRFvdcAOwuyRMRgJwbfriyxpB8KbeAvepkCOxE4Np2BKrBb7ztHY28AZuGNcja2YswVHgdhuTej7_53ZXOaA73PNTGjDef68M0/s250/download.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="141" data-original-width="250" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjruUM8tuY68CWTjUdJa798Liv5lecFfQNxuTYfquZcgxWumufTJxMru_70xwpkv0u1MdO5WdIvGn0odJhaCFYRJvRZRFvdcAOwuyRMRgJwbfriyxpB8KbeAvepkCOxE4Np2BKrBb7ztHY28AZuGNcja2YswVHgdhuTej7_53ZXOaA73PNTGjDef68M0/w400-h226/download.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">One German man has redefined “man on a mission.” A 62-year-old from Magdeburg deliberately got 217 Covid-19 vaccine shots in the span of 29 months, according to a new study, going against national vaccine recommendations. That’s an average of one jab every four days.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In the process, he became a walking experiment for what happens to the immune system when it is vaccinated against the same pathogen repeatedly. A correspondence published Monday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases outlined his case and concluded that while his “hypervaccination” did not result in any adverse health effects, it also did not significantly improve or worsen his immune response.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The man, who is not named in the correspondence in compliance with German privacy rules, reported receiving 217 Covid shots between June 2021 and November 2023. Of those, 134 were confirmed by a prosecutor and through vaccination center documentation; the remaining 83 were self-reported, according to the study.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/06/health/covid-217-shots-hypervaccination-lancet/index.html" target="_blank">https://edition.cnn.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-27450698952785740622024-03-05T09:23:00.003+05:302024-03-05T09:23:22.782+05:30NASA space photo shows odd-looking sky holes near Florida.<p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGHhtZ96-TtrRxVx4XFibhFOgBcAJT8A5FNREHdjDANrCRfZGBQvfAFut8RxqJHFv1qDLOvkNXphiA_7VHzN23s8xRNA4U0xZMrrsId5fZZiCnWIzBT14aSZ-l3HCjzZYUbFWRZy4fpUSArVchVS7_ivmZ9DT_29-PWoR6C9n89F4Sg_It0AP3TnT4Jo/s1000/65e4ad79ce7f1785b2e5bfc0.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicGHhtZ96-TtrRxVx4XFibhFOgBcAJT8A5FNREHdjDANrCRfZGBQvfAFut8RxqJHFv1qDLOvkNXphiA_7VHzN23s8xRNA4U0xZMrrsId5fZZiCnWIzBT14aSZ-l3HCjzZYUbFWRZy4fpUSArVchVS7_ivmZ9DT_29-PWoR6C9n89F4Sg_It0AP3TnT4Jo/w400-h266/65e4ad79ce7f1785b2e5bfc0.webp" width="400" /></a></span></b></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A NASA satellite snapped a photo of giant ring-shaped clouds over the Gulf of Mexico.</span></b></div></b><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">You can see this phenomenon, called cavum clouds, from the ground and in space. </span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Cavum clouds have a natural explanation but have been mistaken for aliens and other odd phenomena. </span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Earlier this year, NASA's Terra satellite was zipping over the Gulf of Mexico when one of its instruments snapped a photo of some odd-looking clouds.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The clouds looked like someone had taken a hole punch to the sky.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This unusual phenomenon isn't new. Researchers have been documenting it since the 1940s, according to NASA. But it wasn't until about 15 years ago that scientists finally found an explanation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The features are officially called cavum clouds but are sometimes nicknamed hole-punch clouds or fallstreak holes. They're so big that you can see them from the ground and in space.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It's no wonder people have mistaken them for flying saucers or other unusual phenomena. They don't look like your average cloud.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">And, in fact, they aren't your average cloud. If it weren't for human technology, cavum clouds would never exist.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">They form when airplanes fly through banks of midlevel altocumulus clouds — clouds made of supercooled droplets — according to a pair of studies published in 2010 and 2011.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-space-photo-shows-sky-holes-near-florida-2024-3#:~:text=A%20NASA%20satellite%20snapped%20a,the%20ground%20and%20in%20space." target="_blank">www.businessinsider.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-29968691783192381512024-03-05T09:12:00.001+05:302024-03-05T09:12:22.657+05:30James Webb Space Telescope captures the end of planet formation.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc40Rl_RBWknYdzkwjccCshYjl8WFPF2xPaS0SvbIctB-rjMqmHEBz3dns8k0qE3qYlGurHTZORa95kReL2GmCebVBsDw39QaA7Y_uugHKQz5wTKhDz0VNhxJ9G00spszH_ggjAf3AZ1MT4ZVUAITbrDjhJqGduu06jXrrnDyHn7I-e0GM-zBI_cEfCi8/s800/jwst-captures-the-end.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="800" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc40Rl_RBWknYdzkwjccCshYjl8WFPF2xPaS0SvbIctB-rjMqmHEBz3dns8k0qE3qYlGurHTZORa95kReL2GmCebVBsDw39QaA7Y_uugHKQz5wTKhDz0VNhxJ9G00spszH_ggjAf3AZ1MT4ZVUAITbrDjhJqGduu06jXrrnDyHn7I-e0GM-zBI_cEfCi8/w400-h265/jwst-captures-the-end.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is helping scientists uncover how planets form by advancing understanding of their birthplaces and the circumstellar disks surrounding young stars.</span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A team of scientists, led by Naman Bajaj of the University of Arizona and including Dr. Uma Gorti at the SETI Institute, images for the first time winds from an old planet-forming disk (still very young relative to the sun) which is actively dispersing its gas content. The disk has been imaged before, but winds from old disks haven't. Our knowing when the gas disperses is important, as it constrains the time left for nascent planets to consume the gas from their surroundings.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">At the heart of this discovery is the observation of TCha, a young star (relative to the sun) enveloped by an eroding disk notable for its vast dust gap, approximately 30 astronomical units in radius. For the first time, astronomers have imaged the dispersing gas (aka winds) using the four lines of the noble gases neon (Ne) and argon (Ar), one of which is the first detection in a planet-forming disk. The images of [Ne II] show that the wind is coming from an extended region of the disk.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The team, who are all members of a JWST program led by Ilaria Pascucci (University of Arizona), is also interested in knowing how this process takes place so they can better understand the history and impact on our solar system.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-03-james-webb-space-telescope-captures.html#:~:text=James%20Webb%20Space%20Telescope%20captures%20the%20end%20of%20planet%20formation,-by%20SETI%20Institute&text=The%20James%20Webb%20Space%20Telescope,circumstellar%20disks%20surrounding%20young%20stars." target="_blank">https://phys.org</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-52670525356919941292024-03-05T09:03:00.002+05:302024-03-05T09:03:12.993+05:30Heaviest pair of black holes ever seen weighs 28 billion times more than the sun.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGiYnBUWiSnQ3dINBa2ZY4MdkKHdvIAvgu9yqjE2VOQCZPW86PSjuA3pYmNmj-6veQKPk37iCG5mR5fc1znl7xOq4AIw0_pukpwhbj59EysnuiSqqofYY_gJvMdKoMIs4hOgfqNMdzCrgZW4ENnAGXgqZuq_oA70EhVpH00gKTfGZQnCaJ4-TvmrOVI0/s650/ExL7xX4WHkXNf95BsMXPVA-650-80.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="650" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGiYnBUWiSnQ3dINBa2ZY4MdkKHdvIAvgu9yqjE2VOQCZPW86PSjuA3pYmNmj-6veQKPk37iCG5mR5fc1znl7xOq4AIw0_pukpwhbj59EysnuiSqqofYY_gJvMdKoMIs4hOgfqNMdzCrgZW4ENnAGXgqZuq_oA70EhVpH00gKTfGZQnCaJ4-TvmrOVI0/w400-h225/ExL7xX4WHkXNf95BsMXPVA-650-80.jpg.webp" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Two supermassive black holes found in collision-created "fossil galaxies" are so massive that they refuse to collide and merge. The discovery could explain why, although supermassive black hole mergers are predicted theoretically, they have never been observed in progress. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The supermassive black hole system is located in elliptical galaxy B2 0402+379. Together, the two black holes have a joint mass that is 28 billion times larger than that of the sun, making this the most massive black hole binary ever seen. Not only that, but the binary components of this system are the closest in a supermassive black hole pair, separated by just 24 light-years. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This is the only supermassive black hole binary that has ever been resolved in enough detail to see both objects separately. Curiously, while the proximity of the two bodies suggests they should collide and merge, they appear to have been locked in the same orbital dance around each other for over 3 billion years.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.space.com/supermassive-black-holes-pair-heaviest-stalled-merger" target="_blank">www.space.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-1694522441146538772024-03-05T08:55:00.003+05:302024-03-05T08:56:05.808+05:30France becomes the only country to explicitly guarantee abortion as a constitutional right.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPuavyK1doSwQkol_1EuPsr-1yGr_MvnGWG8ipWnfvo-Y7U9aTqZxPXpfGvUzx4yj09a1IH1FdYpvILVTBn4vHWZ-9919xMoPm6ZC1gzYdgv7sBleaEIuKuNkHNfpYu6Nk2UHTS0IIyn74rW70_dKAVoX9H9yv3XfAvXwJSVC0pVlSbB-jZZC6RSwRaA/s995/25776921_G.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="995" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPuavyK1doSwQkol_1EuPsr-1yGr_MvnGWG8ipWnfvo-Y7U9aTqZxPXpfGvUzx4yj09a1IH1FdYpvILVTBn4vHWZ-9919xMoPm6ZC1gzYdgv7sBleaEIuKuNkHNfpYu6Nk2UHTS0IIyn74rW70_dKAVoX9H9yv3XfAvXwJSVC0pVlSbB-jZZC6RSwRaA/w400-h225/25776921_G.jpeg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">French lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly approved a bill to enshrine abortion rights in France’s constitution, making it the only country to explicitly guarantee a woman’s right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The historic move was proposed by President Emmanuel Macron as a way to prevent the kind of rollback of abortion rights seen in the United States in recent years, and the vote during a special joint session of France’s parliament drew a long standing ovation among lawmakers.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The measure was approved in a 780-72 vote in the Palace of Versailles. Abortion enjoys wide support in France across most of the political spectrum, and has been legal since 1975.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Many female legislators in the hall smiled broadly as they cheered. While a small group of protesters stood outside the joint session, there were jubilant scenes of celebrations all over France as women’s rights activists hailed the measure promised by Macron within hours of the Dobbs ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The U.S. decision has reverberated across Europe’s political landscape, forcing the issue back into public debate in some countries at a time when far-right nationalist parties are gaining influence.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://apnews.com/article/france-abortion-right-constitution-parliament-vote-versailles-d6ce4fb3a6a7288033f58235b65f570e" target="_blank">https://apnews.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-53404733623675479902024-03-05T08:48:00.005+05:302024-03-05T08:48:55.448+05:30Jeff Bezos Surpasses Elon Musk as World’s Richest Person.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: helvetica; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="700" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8VLOii89FBhCex-wSVLKLgHnOrhyphenhypheniiW6Ze0IPbVL2TA-ErB3dpWf8DExkRGPMqnByHpv8dHq4w78fkzdqeAuQzk1My6KwFkatU4nxxKk6MUbeh6YLu_lYbecq_YjhdGDRkw__KOf0inasMTHWo9WhqpyaHU6j2-dvg7-zTK35pcXiMhr826HeCm3lYFM/s320/im-927765.jpeg" width="320" /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bezos, 60, topped the Bloomberg Billionaires Index for the first time since fall of 2021, surpassing Musk, who is now at $198 billion. </b></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It comes after the Amazon founder sold off a total of $4 billion worth of shares since mid-February.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Musk, 52, saw a judge rule in late January that he must hand back the biggest pay packet in corporate history.</span></b></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Jeff Bezos is back on top as the world's riches man for the first time in three years as his worth sits at $200billion and former No. 1 Elon Musk saw his total stumble. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Bezos, 60, topped the recent Bloomberg Billionaires Index for the first time since fall of 2021, surpassing Musk, who is now at $198 billion. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It comes after the Amazon founder sold off a total of $4billion worth of shares since mid-February, regulatory filings revealed. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">At the same time, Tesla CEO and X chair Musk, 52, saw a judge rule in late January that he must hand back the biggest pay packet in corporate history, at $55billion, following accusations of the CEO strong-arming Tesla directors. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Bezos' stock sales come after it emerged that he will set up his primary residence in Florida, taking advantage of the Sunshine State's tax system. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://apnews.com/article/france-abortion-right-constitution-parliament-vote-versailles-d6ce4fb3a6a7288033f58235b65f570e" target="_blank">https://apnews.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-43027706720754759022024-03-05T08:20:00.001+05:302024-03-05T08:21:18.417+05:30Saturn's largest moon most likely uninhabitable.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKg3c6liTppW1bfDVR54wLUBZ2ybb6SrHOsmaRC2MuRt2nrB_EE50q18SGhCUDKfYCrwk8V6tQjbSe4awOg2mBZk8nArFuGGdWUo2PQZYQ3qcyIIE6T8cpekpPnOnE-BONe1UCr_sKHI9Woix4Yh2Lx0y4VdU2-9MY-4zA5afUmHE4UE1oX9uv9rncHw/s800/saturns-largest-moon-m-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="800" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKg3c6liTppW1bfDVR54wLUBZ2ybb6SrHOsmaRC2MuRt2nrB_EE50q18SGhCUDKfYCrwk8V6tQjbSe4awOg2mBZk8nArFuGGdWUo2PQZYQ3qcyIIE6T8cpekpPnOnE-BONe1UCr_sKHI9Woix4Yh2Lx0y4VdU2-9MY-4zA5afUmHE4UE1oX9uv9rncHw/w400-h210/saturns-largest-moon-m-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A study led by Western astrobiologist Catherine Neish shows the subsurface ocean of Titan—the largest moon of Saturn—is most likely a non-habitable environment, meaning any hope of finding life in the icy world is dead in the water.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This discovery means it is far less likely that space scientists and astronauts will ever find life in the outer solar system, home to the four 'giant' planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The identification of life in the outer solar system is a significant area of interest for planetary scientists, astronomers and government space agencies like NASA, largely because many icy moons of the giant planets are thought to have large subsurface oceans of liquid water. Titan, for example, is thought to have an ocean beneath its icy surface that is more than 12 times the volume of Earth's ocean.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://phys.org/news/2024-02-saturn-largest-moon-uninhabitable.html" target="_blank">https://phys.org</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-52121188621889943492024-03-05T06:28:00.002+05:302024-03-05T06:28:35.448+05:30Google is making a map of methane leaks for the whole world.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlqkJrqL9KpIcPukanrqu6x1pweIsevCPiWWTHcyvZy5yojiLXqp3eSvLvYd5z8owmaUD910mUBXFBjlEwqHPvL1Q-cUZG9qOjRXmmEYnaPP6ZxGrEX82Y8r5DNm4qqfIk9Q2R66mI_L6e-BL24N5-h2z0GAkcaK3pRaCtE3lsvS-SYupV5okL6ZfBnE/s700/65cbe87e94aa8ee8e84b0f81.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="700" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlqkJrqL9KpIcPukanrqu6x1pweIsevCPiWWTHcyvZy5yojiLXqp3eSvLvYd5z8owmaUD910mUBXFBjlEwqHPvL1Q-cUZG9qOjRXmmEYnaPP6ZxGrEX82Y8r5DNm4qqfIk9Q2R66mI_L6e-BL24N5-h2z0GAkcaK3pRaCtE3lsvS-SYupV5okL6ZfBnE/w400-h329/65cbe87e94aa8ee8e84b0f81.webp" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Google is planning to use satellite data, AI technology, and computing power to map methane emissions. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that's responsible for nearly a third of global warming. Nearly 40% of manmade methane comes from oil, gas, and coal operations.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A satellite that measures methane leaks from oil and gas companies is set to start circulating the Earth 15 times a day next month. Google plans to have the data mapped by the end of the year for the whole world to see.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The partnership between Google and the Environmental Defense Fund, which in March is expected to launch its satellite known as MethaneSAT, marks a new era of global climate accountability. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas estimated to be responsible for nearly a third of human-caused global warming. Scientists say slashing methane emissions is one of the fastest ways to slow the climate crisis because methane has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a decade.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-map-methane-leaks-world-can-see-2024-2" target="_blank">www.businessinsider.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-84020063406023070272024-03-05T06:19:00.011+05:302024-03-05T06:19:52.506+05:30Polar bears appear to be ageing faster as the Arctic gets warmer.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: helvetica; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XxoBx_Sq4kcFjC_9Y01YB2tLMEAbH1dxREzsUf-GN9Nd_g2vf2VaZbtQ-cyzuke0CmYcGAeKc1uwVoJRkNba-s4sVPE0yiodr5iRbnvhWXgPMT5Unr5PLn5x3CSpL_HRnyv_dGSQAnS4puKIM5jqLxjR1S_XcL-KFroXb8KQFGHFnOJ5tEWsaTiJMXQ/w400-h266/SEI_191287210.webp" width="400" /></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The stress of climate change seems to be making polar bears today age at a faster rate than those born just over half a century ago.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Markers of biological ageing in polar bear tissue samples reveal that stress associated with climate change appears to be taking a toll.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2417305-polar-bears-appear-to-be-ageing-faster-as-the-arctic-gets-warmer/" target="_blank">www.newscientist.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-54261576970809095052024-03-03T08:33:00.000+05:302024-03-05T08:33:59.529+05:30SpaceX launches Crew-8 astronaut mission to International Space Station for NASA.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgE49PgacdprAqd-Zfnz02bwKFi9F0KCDchsimeqsFCOrc46V__sQ5mDZbfeR0Iju5oS_JQhk3HmKgbRCc9oce7es_tkfUtkgbVBvb6WlQrZKX0nPT6TUWvtIzcHg7CEFSoRUTSeUfkCeDJDlltOTYqIIBYX-K27vWHJAkGfI5K6e6eYkcEn8HDbs2ss/s970/KAHzgeFA3UyCPbsY4bCQiL-970-80.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="970" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgE49PgacdprAqd-Zfnz02bwKFi9F0KCDchsimeqsFCOrc46V__sQ5mDZbfeR0Iju5oS_JQhk3HmKgbRCc9oce7es_tkfUtkgbVBvb6WlQrZKX0nPT6TUWvtIzcHg7CEFSoRUTSeUfkCeDJDlltOTYqIIBYX-K27vWHJAkGfI5K6e6eYkcEn8HDbs2ss/w400-h225/KAHzgeFA3UyCPbsY4bCQiL-970-80.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">SpaceX launched another crew of four to the International Space Station tonight (March 3).</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with the four astronauts of NASA's Crew-8 mission at 10:53 p.m. EST tonight (0353 GMT on March 4) from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Cape Canaveral, Florida. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The rocket's two stages separated 2.5 minutes after launch. About five minutes after that, the first stage returned to Earth at Cape Canaveral, acing the company's 204th consecutive booster landing. Then, 12 minutes and 15 seconds after liftoff, the Falcon 9's upper stage deployed the mission's Crew Dragon capsule, named Endeavour, into low Earth orbit (LEO).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.space.com/crew-8-mission-launches-spacex-nasa-space-station?utm_term=1D64AB8E-6EDB-4532-9C00-61DE34DE5D3B&lrh=5e7f132a1133c41e1d944ba0438bef42fbda7f416902bdf97b569b2073cb33ec&utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9&utm_medium=email&utm_content=A3C104E9-045F-404F-9641-81196068B783&utm_source=SmartBrief" target="_blank">www.space.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-42299894125692249962024-02-26T22:07:00.003+05:302024-02-26T22:08:06.547+05:30Microplastics found in every human placenta tested, study finds.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcRX3stosW-aqpWIsPx4bhy3YeS8kgc9tgZPQSdlkjTfGCjIIIiKuYdGGWTU6vDxN35Ldq25hYNtpatZP01hNgF8LI28ljn17ddSQpq3CfhU4cHfvmVpOeHLe-zRwuJN7w42ACz1hyEbsU9UtOSTjmLdGZxVqn5TIA97BoJEu_j05AQYNGIXJnu2afu8/s1024/MicroplasticPlacenta.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="1024" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcRX3stosW-aqpWIsPx4bhy3YeS8kgc9tgZPQSdlkjTfGCjIIIiKuYdGGWTU6vDxN35Ldq25hYNtpatZP01hNgF8LI28ljn17ddSQpq3CfhU4cHfvmVpOeHLe-zRwuJN7w42ACz1hyEbsU9UtOSTjmLdGZxVqn5TIA97BoJEu_j05AQYNGIXJnu2afu8/w640-h260/MicroplasticPlacenta.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It's been over three years since scientists first found microplastics swimming in four different human placentas, and as it turns out, that was just the tip of the iceberg.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A few years later, at the start of 2023, researchers announced they had found microscopic particles of plastic waste in no fewer than 17 different placentas. By the end of 2023, a local study in Hawai'i analyzed 30 placentas that were donated between 2006 and 2021 only to find plastic contamination had increased significantly over time.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Using a new technique, researchers have now identified tiny particles and fibers of plastic less than a micron in size in the largest sample of placentas yet.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">In all 62 tissue samples studied, the team found microplastics of various concentrations in every single one. These concentrations ranged from 6.5 to 685 micrograms per gram of tissue, which is much higher than levels found in the human bloodstream.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">No one yet knows what this plastic pollution is doing – if anything – to the health of the fetus or the mother. While microplastics have been found in every major organ of the human body, including the brain, it's unknown if these pollutants are temporary visitors or permanent and accumulating threats to health.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As environmental plastic pollution continues to worsen, contamination of the placenta is on track to only increase, as humans breathe in and ingest more plastic than ever before.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/microplastics-found-in-every-human-placenta-tested-study-finds" target="_blank">www.sciencealert.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-43582658247558449012024-02-26T21:56:00.005+05:302024-02-26T21:56:53.697+05:30Archaeologists Found an Ancient Roman Egg.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cWT5EkxRylqY-9tZKM_cFAd2nUSCo3UThRJ6vG3tFbHUdeVkF4hKEoT9s-xjRfwwMHfeHs0gjzznzFpz7FrOUIEz5Wvbm2cA62EIlbO6Mrcg9tPfP7RCQ_LWNNUdpIMZ9n48WNWW1ij44YC0x0X3uUES0uukYu0oDHWs11lAlv4VFPHfUurVA8gOpNQ/s1200/egg-1576255579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cWT5EkxRylqY-9tZKM_cFAd2nUSCo3UThRJ6vG3tFbHUdeVkF4hKEoT9s-xjRfwwMHfeHs0gjzznzFpz7FrOUIEz5Wvbm2cA62EIlbO6Mrcg9tPfP7RCQ_LWNNUdpIMZ9n48WNWW1ij44YC0x0X3uUES0uukYu0oDHWs11lAlv4VFPHfUurVA8gOpNQ/w400-h200/egg-1576255579.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">An archaeological dig in Britain’s Buckinghamshire recently hatched something the world has never seen before: a fully intact egg at least 1,700 years old. It’s the oldest unintentionally preserved egg in the world, and if that’s not enough, researchers found that the egg remains completely full of its original liquid.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The archeological dig that produced the egg occurred sometime between 2007 and 2016, before the site—located in what is now a housing development at Berryfield in Aylesbury—was fully developed. The findings weren’t made public until 2019, and research on the intact egg wasn’t carried out until 2023, when a micro-CT scan was performed at the University of Kent.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a46871142/ancient-roman-egg/" target="_blank">www.popularmechanics.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-71693575638649844132024-02-24T21:58:00.011+05:302024-02-26T22:01:01.617+05:30February's Full Snow Moon rises tonight, the smallest full moon of 2024<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLk-xxrmSs4NO_Z1TBn7mf7MbHO9-QVgEZjnKYCmmNgrF3fIZDX0emnA7hsMT4WLJzjglDL_jzMznS57NMh_mKd2o2udIzwYLo5eSJAZ0r-Buigy7qdAlRtyiuXwF2YpzlInB8a9_92mNNUGQMUoRrtbXMS5gZO36RRFOPFzuCUt367CLqnpkd1CzKUZs/s650/ynFzPZDi4TsrDmBEMNknYC-650-80.jpg.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="650" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLk-xxrmSs4NO_Z1TBn7mf7MbHO9-QVgEZjnKYCmmNgrF3fIZDX0emnA7hsMT4WLJzjglDL_jzMznS57NMh_mKd2o2udIzwYLo5eSJAZ0r-Buigy7qdAlRtyiuXwF2YpzlInB8a9_92mNNUGQMUoRrtbXMS5gZO36RRFOPFzuCUt367CLqnpkd1CzKUZs/w400-h225/ynFzPZDi4TsrDmBEMNknYC-650-80.jpg.webp" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The full moon will appear a bit more petite in the sky tonight as the smallest full moon of 2024 rises.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">February's Full Snow Moon will occur while the moon approaches its farthest point from Earth in its orbit, known as apogee. That means tonight's full moon will appear up to 10% smaller in the night sky — not enough for most of us to notice, but seasoned moonwatchers might be able to tell the difference.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The Full Snow Moon will rise around 6:30 p.m. local time in the east, just as the sun is setting in the west. It will appear between the hind legs of the Leo constellation, the Lion, and reach its highest point in the night sky around midnight. The moon will remain visible for the entirety of the night, setting with the next rising sun.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.space.com/full-moon-rises-tonight-february-2024" target="_blank">www.space.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-89459111219949900302024-02-23T23:33:00.000+05:302024-03-01T23:34:17.823+05:30Paleontologists discover a 240 million-year-old 'dragon' fossil in full.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyTRu6CWd9MSiTzQgMsz0Aba_3Qwegmx_i0ZEliIMD22l7OK9xd6OAEqsDa3JCdhY8Zkm44JqDfvcqiG01D-viSvvx5vOFMVVxojCpTX22J7Ih0XKPYMPnV-GP9bZdWdnF1VdMtTqQIiOanDPofQESYqjuzUri7qjCsuSCgE04CRSEPiQ7EXnXxPdrco/s800/Blue%20and%20Gold%20Snowflake%20Storage%20Label%20(4).png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyTRu6CWd9MSiTzQgMsz0Aba_3Qwegmx_i0ZEliIMD22l7OK9xd6OAEqsDa3JCdhY8Zkm44JqDfvcqiG01D-viSvvx5vOFMVVxojCpTX22J7Ih0XKPYMPnV-GP9bZdWdnF1VdMtTqQIiOanDPofQESYqjuzUri7qjCsuSCgE04CRSEPiQ7EXnXxPdrco/w400-h300/Blue%20and%20Gold%20Snowflake%20Storage%20Label%20(4).png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It's a fitting discovery in the Year of the Dragon: A team of scientists has uncovered a complete fossil of an aquatic reptile that resembles a "Chinese dragon" because of its snake-like appearance and elongated neck.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The fossil of the Dinocephalosaurus orientalis dates back 240 million years to the Triassic period and was found in the Guizhou Province of southern China.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">While the reptile was first identified in 2003, this latest discovery is more complete — about 16 feet long — and allowed the scientists to depict the strange, prehistoric creature in full for the first time.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/23/1233468580/dragon-fossil-china-triassic" target="_blank">www.npr.org</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-12338935776191941872024-02-23T23:05:00.001+05:302024-02-23T23:05:39.121+05:30US Lander Odysseus makes space history with lunar touchdown.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlBcVzgZyXgfOc1zpRdryU3QgHW8v9jrnHSTK0-O0lVwHB2qkgh_FylrgSEGFQxTfAWrAR4KqK1tbYCgD0CcKH5V4F5exnSEDjFdEoVtMsOWcl6hiGM7eGX5MsQ9PiF9L__XZs0hPfgSnMDuSHzd0wOgg0oJdsMi8-DiumvES5PsDIIaXYXMTiyd-rW0/s1024/IntuitiveLandingSimulation.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="1024" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWlBcVzgZyXgfOc1zpRdryU3QgHW8v9jrnHSTK0-O0lVwHB2qkgh_FylrgSEGFQxTfAWrAR4KqK1tbYCgD0CcKH5V4F5exnSEDjFdEoVtMsOWcl6hiGM7eGX5MsQ9PiF9L__XZs0hPfgSnMDuSHzd0wOgg0oJdsMi8-DiumvES5PsDIIaXYXMTiyd-rW0/w640-h260/IntuitiveLandingSimulation.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The US company Intuitive Machines has successfully put its Odysseus lunar lander on the Moon's surface in a landmark achievement in space exploration by the private sector.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Calling it a white-knuckle ride to the end is an understatement. Slowing down from a velocity of 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) per second after crossing a gulf 400,000 kilometers wide, the lander had to come to a full stop with pin-point precision.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As the lander slowed to land, communications were cut, making Odysseus a fully autonomous system.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For fifteen long minutes after the mission control team expected to hear from the lander, there was still silence. Beyond troubleshooting malfunctions prior to descent, there's not a great deal mission control can do should things go wrong, except wait to hear.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Then, a whisper was heard. Faint, but it was enough.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">At 17:38 CT the landing vehicle, nicknamed 'Odie' by its team, was confirmed to have set down in an impact crater called Malapart A, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) from the lunar south pole.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It wasn't all clear sailing in the lead-up to touchdown, with the system's laser-guidance system malfunctioning on the way in.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Fortunately NASA's payloads on the private mission included an operational lidar, which was patched in to guide the mission to the surface.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A little over half a century ago, NASA departed the lunar surface in what would be its final Apollo program mission. Today's achievement marks a return to the Moon for the US, in a form few might have once anticipated.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">With the emergence of companies like Space X and Blue Origin, space exploration is increasingly being carried on the backs of commercial ventures.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Odysseus is the first mission by Intuitive Machines. Founded in 2013, it was one of nine companies selected by NASA permitted to bid as a payload service for government-funded programs.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">This is the first successful landing of what is likely many such missions to come. Among several other privately funded payloads, NASA has six instruments on board, including a laser retroreflector to bounce back laser light from Earth, a low-frequency radio receiver for measuring charged particles on the Moon's surface, and an instrument in the propellant tank that uses a novel method for keeping track of fuel levels.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Over the next two weeks, Odysseus and its rover will make use of the fading sunlight to power its way through experiments that ought to help NASA with its plans to put people on the Moon's surface within the next few years.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/success-us-lander-odysseus-makes-space-history-with-lunar-touchdown" target="_blank">www.sciencealert.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-90466821862877557112024-02-21T05:25:00.000+05:302024-02-23T05:25:55.621+05:30U.S. Moon Landing: How to watch and what to know.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQXl3A9Nhd22o63Sf3VDtJA_GtVp0500FlGdn55DycQshWDvYP7tyUnxzck4XHEApXyySwWZFgr0bu4f00G5rcmVQO-7GSROBfEaxe6NFdFXDoaxm8YQqSp10ZABJAFUqABixiH-wHZ31ocAbYTUukvazNhm4zZbh7JRyRtDahUxNa-L4OERjduF6uOw/s1024/21intuitive-moon-lander-jhtq-jumbo.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRQXl3A9Nhd22o63Sf3VDtJA_GtVp0500FlGdn55DycQshWDvYP7tyUnxzck4XHEApXyySwWZFgr0bu4f00G5rcmVQO-7GSROBfEaxe6NFdFXDoaxm8YQqSp10ZABJAFUqABixiH-wHZ31ocAbYTUukvazNhm4zZbh7JRyRtDahUxNa-L4OERjduF6uOw/w400-h266/21intuitive-moon-lander-jhtq-jumbo.webp" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">If all goes as planned, Odysseus, a private spacecraft, will touch down on the lunar surface on Thursday. It will be the first U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">On Wednesday morning, a robotic lunar lander launched by a Houston company got closer to reaching the moon.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The company, Intuitive Machines, announced that its Odysseus spacecraft had fired its engine for six minutes and 48 seconds, slowing it enough to be pulled by the moon’s gravity into a circular orbit 57 miles above the surface.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">On Thursday, it is scheduled to touch down on the moon. If all goes well, it will become the first private spacecraft ever to make a soft landing there and the first American mission to arrive there since Apollo 17 in 1972.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When is the landing and how can I watch it?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Odysseus is expected to land on the lunar surface at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday. (Late Wednesday afternoon, Intuitive Machines adjusted the landing time, moving it up by 19 minutes, based on the orbit the spacecraft ended up in.)</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/science/space/moon-landing-nasa-odysseus-intuitive-machines.html" target="_blank">www.nytimes.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-59970101194588259782024-02-21T05:17:00.002+05:302024-02-23T05:20:38.568+05:30‘Lost Bird’ not seen in 20 years photographed for the first time.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEx6w0vTmomeQ3sqRK1CG3wTyC1LGLR8L7QyR40i-HRqEQuynkha6JpcBaS6-X_LJ_a33DrgWLBol045-T5PWFBBlv-sL_jmqlXyFyeYtXs-Qq361uWYFRbNjy32ox7tfVjo-HPVahn3FQGjPeV5GwvgCLS9Azznebka17UeOMJ0bI1ZYQ1ZIYhUWwU_E/s850/yellow-crested-helmetshrike-1.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="850" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEx6w0vTmomeQ3sqRK1CG3wTyC1LGLR8L7QyR40i-HRqEQuynkha6JpcBaS6-X_LJ_a33DrgWLBol045-T5PWFBBlv-sL_jmqlXyFyeYtXs-Qq361uWYFRbNjy32ox7tfVjo-HPVahn3FQGjPeV5GwvgCLS9Azznebka17UeOMJ0bI1ZYQ1ZIYhUWwU_E/w400-h300/yellow-crested-helmetshrike-1.webp" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Rediscovering a lost species is exciting, and important for boosting conservation efforts. However, it is not for the faint of heart. An international team of scientists traversed 75 miles of steep mountain terrain to capture the first recorded photos of a bird once considered lost. The yellow-crested helmetshrike (Prionops alberti) was listed as a ‘lost bird’ by the American Bird Conservancy because it hadn’t been seen by scientists in almost 20 years. </div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">That did not deter a group of scientists from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). They embarked on a six-week expedition to the Itombwe Massif mountain range in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo alongside a group of Congolese researchers from the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles. The team trekked by foot for over 75 miles to survey all of the birds, amphibians, and reptiles they found along the way.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">While exploring the cloud forests on the slopes of a mountain, the team stumbled upon the helmetshrike, with its bright yellow “helmet” and black plumage. They primarily feed on insects and other small prey and forage in tight groups. The birds were observed in very noisy groups in the forest’s midstory–the area between the shortest and tallest trees, between the top canopy and shrub layer. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The yellow-crested helmetshrike is endemic to the western slopes of the Albertine Rift of Central Africa. About 18 birds in total were found at three sites during the expedition. The photos of the helmetshrikes have been reviewed and confirmed by Cameron Rutt, who leads the American Bird Conservancy’s Lost Birds project. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The December 2023 to January 2024 expedition also led to the rediscovery of the red-bellied squeaker frog (Arthroleptis hematogaster), which had not been documented by scientists in this region since the 1950s. The frog rediscovery was confirmed by biologist David Blackburn from the University of Florida’s Museum of Natural History.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.popsci.com/environment/lost-bird-helmetshrike-photos/" target="_blank">www.popsci.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-29304921996867354202024-02-20T23:09:00.004+05:302024-02-23T23:13:47.905+05:30SpaceX launches Indonesian satellite on 300th successful Falcon 9 mission.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEs1sqDj3F8qx9J6Ai9J7joEEwJ27iYW5ZMIEPdDvv7FhcNtDSkXnBUWyjNXo2uwIJ4BlFJiCLQVyYZBhTu6E1shFrthhjscaW1g9j9NJVnFOgKCRshzwrUtH3sb7LhqubeWok4EJIvfXXmd41CBl5GOK5YnfrAFhJlPrK2PCWtekT8E1Qo2cK5lkL3M/s970/VFiJhoEd9vHuw8t8ZP3xj9-970-80.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="970" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimEs1sqDj3F8qx9J6Ai9J7joEEwJ27iYW5ZMIEPdDvv7FhcNtDSkXnBUWyjNXo2uwIJ4BlFJiCLQVyYZBhTu6E1shFrthhjscaW1g9j9NJVnFOgKCRshzwrUtH3sb7LhqubeWok4EJIvfXXmd41CBl5GOK5YnfrAFhJlPrK2PCWtekT8E1Qo2cK5lkL3M/w400-h225/VFiJhoEd9vHuw8t8ZP3xj9-970-80.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">SpaceX just notched another impressive milestone.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A Falcon 9 rocket launched the Merah Putih 2 communications satellite from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 3:11 p.m. EST (2011 GMT), then deployed it into orbit 34.5 minutes later.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">It was the 300th successful mission for the workhorse rocket to date, SpaceX noted this afternoon in a post on X.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.space.com/spacex-telkomsat-merah-putih-2-satellite-launch?utm_term=1D64AB8E-6EDB-4532-9C00-61DE34DE5D3B&lrh=5e7f132a1133c41e1d944ba0438bef42fbda7f416902bdf97b569b2073cb33ec&utm_campaign=58E4DE65-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9&utm_medium=email&utm_content=988025D9-144F-40B0-99D3-37C138D0B14D&utm_source=SmartBrief" target="_blank">www.space.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-52932744119517920192024-02-19T06:06:00.000+05:302024-03-05T06:07:29.413+05:30Largest Covid vaccine study yet finds link to health conditions.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh699X9a8FBHYb2aFZ1I5gm61oMzmbEwqcaMO8PpgsWiMGz7LQbP-yL6hHubZzmL-bZF_T3Z0DTqEzIoavZslTRi3slqYhXlb2CTP4h8POf1FoTapJtgl5-VdTU840isouNXHnOZL8WlsTFcR1Z5vO7UJO44ngxEh_HIE4ipPIEbK2toMJxGt8hotZCXiM/s654/man-getting-a-jab-in-his-arm.webp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="654" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh699X9a8FBHYb2aFZ1I5gm61oMzmbEwqcaMO8PpgsWiMGz7LQbP-yL6hHubZzmL-bZF_T3Z0DTqEzIoavZslTRi3slqYhXlb2CTP4h8POf1FoTapJtgl5-VdTU840isouNXHnOZL8WlsTFcR1Z5vO7UJO44ngxEh_HIE4ipPIEbK2toMJxGt8hotZCXiM/w400-h238/man-getting-a-jab-in-his-arm.webp" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Vaccines that protect against severe illness, death and lingering long Covid symptoms from a Covid-19 infection are linked to small increases in neurological, blood, and heart-related conditions, according to the largest global vaccine safety study to date.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The study is likely to deepen the debate over the relative merits of getting vaccinated and whether the response was proportional.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Researchers stress that the risk of an adverse event from a Covid vaccine remains relatively low and that association does not prove causation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">However, among the 13.5 billion doses administered globally, a small proportion of people immunised developed complications, fuelling a debate over the trade-offs involved.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.gbnews.com/health/covid-vaccine-symptoms-study" target="_blank">www.gbnews.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364175325786803105.post-23803504803766710822024-02-09T21:31:00.000+05:302024-02-18T21:36:19.711+05:30Atlantic Ocean circulation nearing ‘devastating’ tipping point, study finds.<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8ENC2v1MPBpVwWuiM-ihzXhmPux40FzuIQLy9Z_-KVuZFr4I3ZQmmm7gi79PjxlBp0dIXjlXH5Z3QZrTKNUYbDYRz7kyLuxR3difI7J0QG5e5xnezzoXv0gqV9IcQOeCO5OSOuiP1lER_pDasBkXoHwXOnKrLkKyHikJeNxgUqhkM9_MvEL3jBltvoE/s290/download%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="290" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8ENC2v1MPBpVwWuiM-ihzXhmPux40FzuIQLy9Z_-KVuZFr4I3ZQmmm7gi79PjxlBp0dIXjlXH5Z3QZrTKNUYbDYRz7kyLuxR3difI7J0QG5e5xnezzoXv0gqV9IcQOeCO5OSOuiP1lER_pDasBkXoHwXOnKrLkKyHikJeNxgUqhkM9_MvEL3jBltvoE/w400-h240/download%20(1).jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The circulation of the Atlantic Ocean is heading towards a tipping point that is “bad news for the climate system and humanity”, a study has found.</div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The scientists behind the research said they were shocked at the forecast speed of collapse once the point is reached, although they said it was not yet possible to predict how soon that would happen.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Using computer models and past data, the researchers developed an early warning indicator for the breakdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Amoc), a vast system of ocean currents that is a key component in global climate regulation.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">They found Amoc is already on track towards an abrupt shift, which has not happened for more than 10,000 years and would have dire implications for large parts of the world.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Amoc, which encompasses part of the Gulf Stream and other powerful currents, is a marine conveyer belt that carries heat, carbon and nutrients from the tropics towards the Arctic Circle, where it cools and sinks into the deep ocean. This churning helps to distribute energy around the Earth and modulates the impact of human-caused global heating.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Source: <u><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/09/atlantic-ocean-circulation-nearing-devastating-tipping-point-study-finds" target="_blank">www.theguardian.com</a></u></span></p>Current Affairs (CA) Daily Updateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00561343146210060349noreply@blogger.com0