July 11, 2013 |
WASHINGTON: NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has for the first time mapped out the structure of the solar system's tail and found that it is shaped like a four-leaf clover. Scientists describe the tail, called the heliotail, based on the first three years of IBEX imagery in a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal. While telescopes have spotted such tails around other stars, it has been difficult to see whether our star produced one. The particles found in the tail - and throughout the entire heliosphere, the region of space influenced by our Sun - do not shine, so they cannot be seen with conventional instruments.
August 25, 2011 |
Who is not curious about planets outside of our solar system? For the next 18 months, starting this November, a team of international astronomers will explore hot alien atmospheres of exoplanets, or planets outside of our own solar system. They will be looking out for "Hot Jupiters", which are about as big as Jupiter, but with temperatures as scorching as 1,000 degrees Kelvin or more, because they orbit so close to their respective stars. They will do this aided by the US National Aeronautical Space Administration's (NASA)
November 5, 2013 |
NEW DELHI: Indian Space Research Organisation's historic mission to Mars makes for fascinating reading and will spark the interest of young minds in space science and space journeys, says ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan in the forward of a new book on the red planet. "India's tryst with space science dates back to ancient astronomers and mathematicians who have striven to understand our place in the Universe. Now, in 21st century, we stand at a unique time in exploration of our heavens," says Radhakrishnan in the foreword of book "Destination Mars: Secrets of the Red Planet Revealed.
August 15, 2014 |
CHENNAI: While most solar companies focus on commercial establishments, Chennai-based startup Solar Town is aiming to tap residential demand for such solutions through its innovative business model . The firm, which was set up in 2012, received angel investment of less than $200,000 (.'1.2 crore) from BITS Spark , which supports start up efforts of graduates from Birla Institute of Technology and Science. Solar Town hopes to raise $1 ' 6 crore) this financial million (. year.
January 30, 2014 |
WASHINGTON: MIT scientists have developed a map of more than 100,000 asteroids throughout the solar system which suggests that Jupiter may have once drifted much closer to the Sun. The map found that 'rogue' asteroids are more common than previously thought. Particularly in the solar system's main asteroid belt - between Mars and Jupiter - the researchers found a compositionally diverse mix of asteroids. Previously, scientists believed that asteroids that formed near the Sun remained near the Sun and those that formed farther out stayed on the outskirts.
December 8, 2013 |
In the news because... ...Nasa has officially confirmed that ISON, also called the Christmas comet and comet of the century, is dead. How did it die? It came too close to the sun; on November 28 it was just over 1 million km away from the sun — its closest. Enough for its icy matter to be singed and vapourized. Reminds me of the Greek Chappie Icarus . Yup; he too flew too close to the sun. What's the big deal about ISON? A comet is a comet.
May 2, 2012 |
RAJKOT: State finance minister Vajubhai Vala has claimed that the state is leading the country in production of solar power, producing 600 MW electricity through solar system. "Conventional power production has become very expensive as material like coal has to be imported from foreign and time has come to generate electricity through non-conventional source," Vala said while inaugurating 50 KW solar power grid connection at Rajkot Municipal Corporation's (RMC) east zone office last evening.
September 9, 2012
Content Courtesy: BBC Knowledge Magazine A spacecraft orbiting Earth has directly detected the atoms that make up the area of space just outside the Solar System. To scientists' surprise, new data from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) craft, launched in 2008, indicates that the composition of this area of interstellar medium is not uniform across the galaxy, but is unexpectedly low in oxygen. The discovery offers fresh information about the fundamental make up of stars, planets and even people.
March 12, 2010 |
LONDON: In what sounds like a chilling script of a Hollywood science fiction, scientists have claimed that an invisible star, five times the size of Jupiter, might be lurking near our solar system, occasionally kicking deadly comets towards the Earth. According to NASA scientists, the brown dwarf star is up to five times the size of Jupiter and could be responsible for mass extinctions that occur on Earth every 26 million years. They believe, the star nicknamed Nemesis or "The Death Star" could be hidden beyond the edge of our solar system and only emits infrared light.
March 7, 2014 |
GUWAHATI: Renewal energy source makes its inroads in the tea industry. Tea estates in Assam have started experiment with solar power. Tea gardens in Assam face erratic power supply from the grid. Only 60 per cent of total electricity requirement is supplied by the state run power sector utility, for the remaining 40 per cent tea estates have to rely on gensets. Vikram Solar, the manufactures photovoltaic (PV) solar modules has tied up with McLeod Russel India Limited for the execution of 100 Kw Off-Grid Solar Power Project at Attareekhat Tea Estate, Tangla, Assam.