Keshav Jain

The rings of Satum have fascinated and captivated humankind for over 400 years. It was in 1610 that Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei first observed these features through a telescope, though he had no idea what they were.

While our understanding of Saturn’s rings has matured over these four centuries, the age of these rings haven’t been determined precisely yet. The assumption that the rings likely formed at the same time as Satum draws flak as the rings are sparkling clean when compared to the planet.

A new study at the University of Colorado Boulder has provided the strongest evidence so far that the rings of Saturn are remarkably young. The research, published in May in the journal Science Advances, places the age of Saturn’s rings at around 400 million years old. When we compare this with Saturn itself, which is 4.5 billion years old, the rings are really young.

Studying dust                                                                        

The researchers arrived at this number by studying dust. By studying how rapidly the layer of dust built up on Saturn’s rings, they set out to put a date on it. It was, however, not an easy process.

The Cassini spacecraft provided an opportunity by arriving at Saturn in 2004 and collecting data until it intentionally crashed into the planet’s atmosphere in 2017. The Cosmic Dust Analyzer, which was shaped a little bit like a bucket and was aboard this spacecraft, scooped up small particles as the spacecraft whizzed by.

Just 163 grains

The researchers were able to collect just 163 grains of dust that had originated from beyond Saturn’s close neighbourhood during these 13 years. This quantity. however, was enough to make their calculations, placing the age of Saturn’s rings at a little less than 400 million years.

With this, we now know approximately how old Saturn’s rings are and that they are a relatively new phenomena in cosmic terms. With a previous study suggesting that Saturn’s rings could entirely disappear in another 100 million years, questions pertaining to how these rings were initially formed and why these short-lived, dynamic rings can be seen just now still remain.

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Launched on May 28, 1971, Mars 3 was one among a pair of identical spacecraft. While its lander stopped transmitting data after less than 20 seconds, it nevertheless represents the first successful soft landing on Mars. A.S.Ganesh hands you the details about the Mars 3 mission…

When we talk about the space race between the Cold War adversaries the US. and the Soviet Union, we usually discuss the race to land the first human beings on the moon. Soon after this was achieved, however, attention shifted to our neighbouring planet Mars. The first successful soft landing on Mars was achieved by the Soviet Union with their Mars 3 mission.

At this initial period of planetary exploration, both these space superpowers tended to launch pairs of spacecraft as a precautionary measure. The idea was to have one as the backup. of another, so that at least one of them succeeded in its efforts even if the other failed completely in its objective.

It therefore comes as no surprise that the Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions consisted of identical spacecraft. With a bus/orbiter module and an attached descent/lander module, the combined mass of the spacecraft, with fuel, was approximately 4,650 kg. The Mars 3 spacecraft was 4.1 metres high. 5.9 metres across the two solar panel wings and had a base diameter of 2 metres.

Primary objectives

The primary objective of the Mars 3 orbiter was to image the martian surface and clouds. determine the temperature on Mars, and measure properties of the martian atmosphere. among others. These were in addition to serving as a communications relay to send signals from the lander to Earth.

Mars 3 was launched on May 28, 1971, just nine days after Mars 2 had been successfully launched. Ten days later, on June 8, a mid-course correction was made after which Mars 3 was involved in a three-way race with Mars 2 and U.S.’ Mariner 9 to become the first spacecraft to orbit Mars.

Even though Mariner 9 was last off the blocks, having been launched on May 30, it became the first to reach Mars on November 14. Mars 2 reached Mars on November 27 and Mars 3 made it to its destination on December 2.

Achieves soft landing

 Less than five hours before reaching Mars, the descent module of Mars 3 had been released. Having entered the martian atmosphere at roughly 5.7 km/s, a combination of aerodynamic braking, parachutes, and retro-rockets allowed the lander to achieve a soft landing. With the Mars 2 lander having crashed, this made the Mars 3 mission the first ever to achieve a soft landing on Mars.

Only just though, as the lander stopped transmitting and the instruments stopped working less than 20 seconds after the successful landing. While the reasons remain unknown, the massive surface dust storms that were raging at the time of landing could have caused the lander to stop working.

As the orbiter had suffered a partial loss of fuel, it couldn’t put itself into the planned 25 hour orbit. Instead, a truncated burn was performed by the engine in order to put the spacecraft into a 12 day, 19 hour long orbit about Mars.

20 orbits around Mars

A large volume of data was sent hack by Mars 2 and Mars 3 orbiters from December 1971 to March 1972, even though transmission continued till August. On August 22, 1972, an announcement was made stating that Mars 2 and Mars 3 had completed their missions. While Mars 2 had completed 362 orbits of the red planet, Mars 3 had performed 20 orbits.

Apart from the 60 images received from the probes, the data provided by them revealed mountains as high as 22 km, atomic hydrogen and oxygen in the upper atmosphere, and surface temperatures and pressures. The data gathered not only provided information on the martian gravity and magnetic fields, but also helped create surface relief maps.

Mars 3 was back in the news four decades later in April 2013 when citizen enthusiasts found features of its hardware in a five-year-old image from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The debris in the images resembled what might have been the parachute, heat shield, terminal retrorocket and lander. Regardless of whether these were the debris of the Mars 3 lander or not, the mission did successfully become the first ever to achieve a soft landing on our neighbouring red planet.

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Hydrogen or H is getting a lot of attention lately as governments in the U.S., Canada and Europe push to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. But what exactly is H2 and is it really a clean power source?

Here are some key facts about this versatile chemical that could play a much larger role in our lives in the future.

SO, WHAT IS HYDROGEN?

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, but because its so reactive, it isn’t found on its own in nature. Instead, it is typically bound to other atoms and molecules in water, natural gas, coal and even biological matter like plants and human bodies.

Hydrogen can be isolated, however on its own, the H2 molecule packs a heavy punch as a highly effective energy carrier. It is already used in industry to manufacture ammonia, methanol and steel and in refining crude oil.

HYDROGEN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

As a fuel, hydrogen can store energy and reduce emissions from vehicles, including buses and cargo ships. Hydrogen can also be used to generate electricity with lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal or natural gas power plants. Because it can be stored, H2 could help overcome intermittency issues associated with renewable power sources like wind and solar. It can also be blended with natural gas in existing power plants to reduce the plants emissions. Using hydrogen in power plants can reduce carbon dioxide emissions when either blended or alone in specialised turbines, or in fuel cells, which consume H2 and oxygen, or Oz, to produce electricity, heat and water. But it’s typically not entirely CO-free. That’s in part because isolating Hz from water or natural gas takes a lot of energy.

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You must have heard of the term extinction. A species is declared extinct when the last member dies and no individual from that species exists anywhere on our planet. Local extinction refers to a species disappearing from one region, including a country. But have you heard of de-extinction? Come let’s find out what it is and what its implications are also known as resurrection biology, de extinction refers to the process that attempts to recreate extinct species through technology. Since these species no longer exist the new ones will be “new versions of the species. For the last few years, one of the main species in the news for de-extinction has been the woolly mammoth. A project seeks to create “a cold-resistant elephant with all of the core biological traits of the woolly mammoth, and will use the African elephant as the host. With the creation of this new version, the project also hopes the ecosytem that the animal inhabited can be improved – the Arctic tundra, now dominated by the threat of melting permafrost. Many view de-extinction as an opportunity to right the wrong humanity has meted out to wildlife. It is also seen as a first step towards safeguarding endangered species and those on the brink of extinction. The process can also be a chance for humans to learn about the crucial role wildlife plays in our planet and be sensitive towards them. But, de-extinction is not without concerns. The chief worry is the question of ethics – the new versions of species will be a product of humans and not nature. Also, if humans start creating plants and animals, is it far-fetched to think they could end up creating even humans in the future? And, there’s the financial aspect. Bringing back an extinct species costs money-a lot of it. It could rather be spent on safeguarding threatenend species, educating people on wildlife protection, creating a greener planet, etc.

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Step into the world of literary exploration as a student recounts a captivating journey through a book launch event for Dice of Dreams: A collection of stories/dreams to think, link and sink.

One of the +2 students came forward to make a presentation on the book launch that he attended in our club meeting. For most of us, this would be an interesting presentation as we have never had such an experience. Let me briefly describe.

What he shared with us. Even to him, attending a book launch was a novel experience. He told us that one of his intimate friend’s mothers published a book titled Dice of Dreams: A collection of stories/dreams to think, link, and sink!- an anthology of short stories and poems. The function was held in a hall at the heart of the city, and about 100 attendees were present. Since I was with my friend all the time, he introduced me to all his family members and contacts. He mentioned that most of them were his mother’s colleagues, friends, and relatives, besides a few reporters from the news media.

The function started with a few dignitaries seated on the stage who were to launch the book. Before its launch, they spoke about the writers unique contribution and the significance of the book for the readers. One of them quoted Francis Bacon, who categorised books into three types: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few are to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.” This title, he credited, belonged to the third category of “chewed and digested.”

He then proceeded to justify why he heaped such praise: “It is a combo of stories and poems, as every story is preceded by a poem. The writer directs the readers to read the poem first and to reread it after reading the story. While the poem is read initially, it hardly reveals much, but when reread, after being familiar with the story, we could unravel the interconnectedness of them. A rare quality readers come across and a rarity even among iconic writers, but this author achieved this literary distinction in her debut work itself.” Another speaker stressed the author’s leniency towards her female characters, whom she portrayed much more intensely and graphically compared to male characters. This also led her to mention the necessity of more women writers to emerge in the male-dominated literary world, delving deep into women’s consciousness from their own perspectives. The speaker, citing the authors working context (in a government department), stated it enabled her to shift the setting of her stories from the customary home context dealing with familial issues to the workspace, a fertile unexplored avenue which offered her scope for an intensive exploration of women’s concerns. Almost all her female characters are professionals working in different contexts. One of her relatives highlighted the writer’s penchant for narrating stories from her childhood onwards. Besides relaying the stories of the films that she had seen, she would also narrate her own stories captivatingly. The speaker was attempting to impress upon the audience the need to encourage creative narration among their children right from a young age onwards, which may facilitate them to become creative writers, like this writer.

The book had a dual launch: one is the physical book, followed by a trailer, which is about nine minutes was able to present the themes of all nine stories digitally very imaginatively. And the audio launch was accompanied by a few interesting samples with Indian voices, establishing an intimacy with them.

The book launch concluded with the writer thanking everyone for the wishes expressed how the occasion generated multiple feelings in her like happiness about her achievement, anxiety about the expectations of her future works, gratitude to those who stood with her, and nervousness about the reception this anthology would receive among the readers. The student ended with a note of happiness about the new experience he had gained and a lingering wish to become a writer himself.

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A big freeze previously unknown to science drove early humans from Europe for 200,000 years, but they adapted and returned!

Scientists at University College London (UCL) and the 185 Center for Climate Physics Pusan National University South Korea have found that around 1.12 million years ago. A colossal cooling event in the North Atlantic triggered shifts in climate. Vegetation and food resources, the big freeze likely caused the extinction of early humans in Europe, they said in a study publish in Science.

Our discovery of an extreme glacial cooling event around 1.1 million years ago challenges the idea of continuous early human Occupation of Europe.

Archaic humans, Homo erectus moved from Africa into central Eurasia around 1.8 million years ago from there on, they spread towards Western Europe, establishing a foothold in the Iberian peninsula around 1.5 million years ago.

Researchers combined data from deep ocean sediment cores from the eastern subtropical Atlantic with supercomputer climate and human habitat model simulations covering the period of the depopulation event. Scientists discovered that around 1.12 million years ago, the climate over the Eastern North Atlantic and the adjacent land suddenly cooled by seven degrees Centigrade. The habitat model determined environmental conditions were unsuitable for early H. erectus “We found that over many areas of southern Europe. Early human species such as H. erectus would not have been able to survive.

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No, The eggs we buy from the market cannot produce chicks. But why?

The eggs that we buy from the market cannot be hatched to produce chicks. This is because these eggs are not fertilized.

A hen begins to lay eggs when she is about 18 to 20 weeks old. She does not necessarily need to mate with a rooster to produce eggs.

These eggs are produced in response to daylight patterns. Usually a healthy hen lays one egg every 26 to 28 hours for a period of 4 to 6 days. Then she rests for a couple of days before resuming her job! The rate of egg-laying slows down naturally as the days become shorter in winter. Therefore commercial poultries provide artificial lighting to ensure optimal production of eggs. Only the fertilized eggs that are produced after mating can be hatched after about 21 days.

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Though it has nothing to do with vampires. Read on to know why it is a cause for concern Vampire Power, also known as Standby Power or Phantom Load is the electricity consumed by electronic gadgets when they are switched off or kept un-standby mode Printers TVs and computers are said to be electricity vampires because they suck power in the standby mode. Similarly, cell phone chargers and other adapters continue to draw power even when nothing is plugged into them, although the amount of power consumed in standby mode and switched-off state is less, the total electricity used by all appliances is a cause for concern as it generates a hefty bill and leads to wastage of power.

The best way to fight impure power is to unplug devices from the switchboard when they are not in use. Another alternative is to use a power strip (a common strip having many sockets) for plugging in devices that are used together like computer, printer etc. This way you could turn them off simultaneously by simply switching off the strip.

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We have always been looking up, peering into the sky, trying to find answers to the many questions about the universe. Many astronomers have tried to unravel the mysteries of the universe. From believing that Earth was flat and the planets revolved around it, we have come a long way. Let’s take a look at some of history’s greatest astronomers who helped enhance our understanding of the Cosmos.

From believing that the Earth was flat and the planets revolved around it, we have come a long way.Some 2000 years ago, when it was widely believed that the world was flat, Greek mathematician and astronomer Eratosthenes (276 BC-194 BC) calculated the Earth’s circumference. In those days, the very act of coming up with scientific thoughts which were at odds with the ones in existence was not encouraged. The theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun was itself considered heretical by the religious and after a trial, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was kept under house arrest until his death. Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus didn’t publish his magnum opus “De revolutions orbium coelestium” (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) until he was on his deathbed. Let’s take a look at some of history’s greatest astronomers who threw new light on the cosmos.

CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY (AD 100-AD 170)

 Astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy authored several scientific teas and is noted for his Ptolemaic system. It was a geocentric (Earth-centred) model of the universe, where the sun, stars, and other planets revolved around Earth. This model was used for a long period, for over 1200 years, until the heliocentric view of the solar system was established. Although his model of the universe was wrong, his work and the scientific texts he authored helped astronomers make predictions of planetary positions and solar and lunar eclipses. “The Almagest, a comprehensive treatise on the movements of the stars and planets, was published in the 2nd Century. It is divided into 13 books. This manual served as the basic guide for Islamic and European astronomers. He also catalogued 48 constellations. 

NICOLAUS COPERNICUS (1473-1543)

 Nicolaus Copernicus changed the way scientists viewed the solar system. Back in the 16th Century, he came up with a model of the solar system where the Earth revolved around the Sun: it was the revolutionary heliocentric model. He removed Earth from the centre of the universe and replaced it with the Sun! He also didn’t believe in the Ptolemaic model of the planets travelling in circular orbits around the Earth. He also explained the retrograde motion of the planets (retrograde motion is when planets appear to move in the opposite direction of the stars). When the Polish astronomer was 70, he published his book “De Revolutions Orbium Coelestium” (“On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”), on his deathbed. It took over a century for his idea to gain credence.

GALILEO GALILEI (1564-1642)

Optical astronomy began with Galileo Galilei. Born in Italy, Galilei is credited with creating the optical telescope. In fact, what he did was improve upon the existing models. He came up with his first telescope in 1609, modelling it after the telescopes produced in other parts of Europe. But here is the catch. Those telescopes could magnify objects only three times. Galileo came up with a telescope that could magnify objects 20 times. He then pointed it towards the sky, coming up with the greatest discoveries ever. He discovered the four primary moons of Jupiter which are referred to as the Galilean moons. He also discovered the rings of Saturn. Even though the theory of Earth circling the Sun had been around since Copernicus’ time, when Galileo defended it, he was kept under house arrest till the end of his lifetime.

JOHANNES KEPLER (1571-1630)

Danish astronomer Johannes Kepler modified the Copernican view of the solar system and changed it radically. He deduced that the planets travelled in elliptical orbits, one of the most revolutionary ideas at the time, replacing Copernicus view that they travelled in circular objects. He came up with three revolutionary laws involving the motions of planets these three laws make him a towering figure in astronomy. Kepler also observed a supernova in 1604. It is now called Kepler’s Nova.

EDMOND HALLEY (1656-1742)

“Halley’s comet is perhaps a term you would have heard quite often. English astronomer Edmond Halley never saw the comet named after him. Officially called 1P/Halley, Halley’s  comet  is a periodic comet that passes by the Earth once every 76 years (roughly). This famed comet will return in 2061. It was Halley’s mathematical prediction of the comet’s return that made him a towering figure among the list of astronomers. He said that the comet that appeared in 1456, 1531, 1607, and 1682 were all the same and that it would return in 1758. Halley was never around to witness this, but the world saw the comet and its return. The comet was later named in his honour. One of the earliest catalogues of the southern sky was also produced by Halley. In 1676, he sailed to the island St. Helena, South Atlantic Ocean. There he spent a year measuring the position of stars and came up with the first catalogue of the southern sky! Seen here is a painting of the astronomer. 

WILLIAM HERSCHEL (1750-1848)

Musician-tumed astronomer William Herschel started exploring the skies with his sister Caroline quite late in his career but eventually, he compiled a catalogue of 2.500 celestial objects The German astronomer discoverest the planet Uranus and several moons of other planets it was during his mid 30s that he startet looking up and exploring the cosmos In 1759. Herschel left Germany and moved to England where he started teaching music When Herschels interest in astronomy grew, rented a telescope. He then went ahead and built himself a large telescope to watch the celestial bodies. His sister Caroline assisted him until Herschel’s death and also became the first woman to discover a comet. She eventually discovered eight of them. When Herschel found a small object in the night sky, he explored further and found out that it was a planet. The Uranus was thus discovered. He was knighted by the monarch after the discovery and was appointed the court astronomer. Following this he gave up his music career and devoted himself to the skies. He found the moons of Uranus and Saturn Craters on the moon. Mars and Mimas (Saturn’s moon) are named after the astronomer.

ANNIE JUMP CANNON (1863-1941)

Known as the “census taker of the sky, American astronomer Annie Jump Cannon made stellar contributions to the field of astronomy. She classified around 3,50,000  stars manually. At a time when gender representation in astronomy was  skewed. Cannon with her impeccable contributions inspired many women to pursue astronomy. During that time, stars were classified alphabetically, from A to Q. based on their temperatures. She built a new classification system with ten categories and forever changed the way scientists classified stars by developing the Harvard system which is in use even today.

CARL SAGAN (1934-1996)

American astronomer Carl Sagan was not just a science poster boy but he was one of the most influential voices in the scientific  realm  who  made the cosmos a subject of interest for the masses. Sagan played a huge role in in the American space program. He popularised astronomy and through his talks and books motivated many to become sky watchers. He also founded the Planetary Society, a non-profit that is focussed on advancing space science and exploration. He was a professor of astronomy and space sciences and director of the Laboratory for Planetary Studies at Cornell University. His contributions include explaining the high temperatures of Venus and the seasonal changes on Mars. His book “Cosmos” is a bestseller that was also turned into a television show (hosted by Sagan) which was watched by a billion people in 60 countries. He also wrote a science fiction novel “Contact” which was adapted to the screen.

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At its core, storytelling aims to grab reader’s attention and keep them engaged until the end. One valuable literary tool that can help writers build suspense and keep readers hooked is foreshadowing.

What is foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing is like a secret code- intentional hints or clues that the author scatters throughout the narrative to suggest future events or outcomes. These subtle clues create a sense of anticipation, making readers eager to read and to know how the story’s mysteries unravel. It can appear in various forms, such as a character’s dialogue, symbolism, or even a seemingly innocent event with hidden significance. The key to using this tool is providing hints without explicitly revealing the plot’s

outcome. Effective foreshadowing can surprise readers with plot twists they may not fully grasp until the story’s conclusion. For instance, in a tale where a character sees ghosts, various events could foreshadow the revelation that the character is, in fact, a ghost herself, leading to a powerful and unexpected twist for readers.

Types

Foreshadowing can be categorised into two basic types:

Direct foreshadowing

This type involves openly suggesting an upcoming problem, event, or twist in the story. It can be achieved through the characters’ dialogue, the narrator’s comments, a prophecy, or a prologue. For example, in English playwright William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the witches’ prediction that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and, later, the king is a form of direct foreshadowing.

Indirect foreshadowing

This type of foreshadowing involves dropping subtle hints throughout the story about an outcome without explicitly revealing it. Readers may not realise the significance of these clues until they witness the foreshadowed event. A classic example of indirect foreshadowing is seen in the film The Empire Strikes Back, where Luke Skywalker’s vision foreshadows the revelation that Darth Vader is his father.

Mastering the technique of foreshadowing enables writers to craft immersive and compelling stories. By planning the story arc carefully and planting subtle hints throughout the narrative, authors can create an emotional rollercoaster for readers, eliciting surprise, empathy, and excitement in equal measure.

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