Astronomy

Late astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar selected for Vigyan Ratna award

India's most celebrated astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar, who passed away in May, was on Saturday selected for the Vigyan Ratna Puraskar. Narlikar challenged the Big Bang theory, which states that the universe was created in a single moment. He, along with British astronomer Fred Hoyle, proposed that the universe had always existed with continuous creation of new matter into infinity. Narlikar died on May 20 at the age of 86. Modelled on the Padma awards, the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar is the country's top science award. The winners for 2025, the second edition of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, were announced on the website of the national awards -- awards.gov.in -- on Saturday. The government also announced eight Vigyan Shri, 14 Vigyan Yuva and one Vigyan Team awards. Noted agriculture scientist Gyanendra Pratap Singh, popularly known as the wheat breeder, won the Vigyan Shri award for his contribution to the field of Agricultural Science. Yusuf Mohammad Seikh, Director of the phys

Third interstellar object spotted? A11pI3Z stirs global astronomy buzz

Astronomers believe fast-moving object A11pI3Z could be only the third known interstellar visitor, after 'Oumuamua and Borisov - citizen scientists helped confirm its bizarre trajectory

No more rockets? Space elevator may soon carry astronauts to the Moon

A revolutionary study suggests a lunar space elevator built with current materials, potentially transforming the future of human space travel

Renowned astrophysicist and Padma Vibhushan Dr Jayant Narlikar passes away

Eminent astrophysicist, science communicator, and Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr Jayant Vishnu Narlikar passed away in Pune on Tuesday, family sources said. He was 87. A towering figure in Indian science, Dr Narlikar was widely known for his pioneering contributions to cosmology, his efforts to popularise science, and for setting up premier research institutions in the country. According to family sources, Dr Narlikar died in his sleep early Tuesday morning. He had recently undergone hip surgery in a city-based hospital. He is survived by three daughters. Born on July 19, 1938, Dr Narlikar completed his early education on the campus of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where his father, Vishnu Vasudeva Narlikar, was a professor and Head of the Mathematics Department, and he went to Cambridge for higher studies, becoming a Wrangler and Tyson Medallist in the Mathematical Tripos. He returned to India to join the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (1972-1989), where, under his charge

Webb telescope finds strongest clue yet of life beyond our solar system

Scientists detect a potential biosignature gas in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b-one that, on Earth, is only produced by living organisms like phytoplankton

India always contributed to understanding of universe: Isro's ex-chief

India has always been a great nation contributing to the global understanding of the universe from the time of the Vedas to modern-day scientific advances, former ISRO chairman S Somanath said here on Saturday while citing ancient texts like 'Mahasalila' and 'Surya Siddhanta'. Addressing the 60th annual convocation of Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, he emphasised the need for a connection between research organisations, academia and industry, which he, however, added remained a "distant dream." "On this occasion, I would like to highlight the rich and glorious knowledge tradition that India had, which has now been brought to light. From the Vedas to the modern-day scientific advances, India has always been a great nation contributing to the global understanding of the universe," said Somanath. Science and other forms of human knowledge progressed considerably in this part as the world's first source of knowledge, providing scientific insight into astronomy, geography, ...

Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch Flight 8 test of Starship megarocket Tuesday

After investigating loss of Starship early in its seventh flight test, SpaceX implemented several hardware and operational changes to enhance the upper stage's reliability, the company said in a state

Black Moon 2024: What is it and how to watch the rare celestial event?

Great news for all the skygazers! A rare celestial event, the black moon, is set to take place on December 30-31, offering an opportunity for clear views of the cosmos

New study links black holes to the expansion of universe, dark energy

This experiment is likely to bring us closer to discovering dark energy's nature. The scientists believe it will also get us closer to understanding the true nature of black holes

October Full Moon Day 2024: Spiritual significance, when and where to watch

A phenomenal celestial event, Hunter Moon, is waiting for all the sky gazers, offering a rare spectacle with this October full moon day as it is closer than any other moon this year

US delays mission to land humans on moon until Sep 2026, says Nasa

Despite the delay, Nasa said the fall 2026 timeframe for Artemis III is still "very aggressive"

The $42 mn clock set to tick once a year, keep time for next 10,000 years

Being built inside a mountain in Texas, the century hand of the 10,000-year clock advances once every 100 years, and the cuckoo will come out on the millennium

Stars align for astrotech: Astro startups' revenues get festival fillip

Despite an apparent dip in investments, several firms have reportedly been in talks to raise fresh capital this festival season

UK, India scientists to collaborate in astronomy, bio-imaging technology

United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) has embarked on a collaboration with India's Department of Atomic Energy to explore opportunities to set up super computing facilities to process data from the observations made by the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope. The Science and Technology Facilities Council of the UKRI also announced initiatives to harness technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, bio-imaging and accelerator development to augment scientific research and have a tangible impact in areas such as cancer treatment. "The challenge with Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is that it produces vast amounts of data and you have to apply super computing techniques to turn that data very rapidly into things that astronomers can use. That is an area where we intend to collaborate," Mark Thomson, Executive Chairman of Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), told PTI at an event here to mark 15 years of the UKRI-India partnership. Department of ..

International Astronomy Day 2023: History, Importance and interesting facts

International Astronomy Day is observed two times every year. This Day falls on or close to the first quarter moon. One is celebrated in Spring and the other one in Autumn

After Moon, Sun, Isro readies mission to enhance understanding in Astronomy

After the launch of Chandrayaan-3 Moon lander and Aditya-L1 ventures, ISRO has readied a mission aimed at enhancing cutting edge scientific understanding in Astronomy. XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) is India's first dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions. The spacecraft will carry two scientific payloads in a low earth orbit. The primary payload POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays) will measure the polarimetry parameters (degree and angle of polarization) in medium X-ray energy range of 8-30 keV photons of astronomical origin. The XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing) payload will give spectroscopic information in the energy range of 0.8-15 keV, according to ISRO. "XPoSat is ready for launch," an official of the national space agency headquartered here said on Saturday. According to ISRO, the emission mechanism from various astronomical sources such as blackholes, neutron stars, active galactic

Bengaluru experiences its second 'zero shadow day' this year on August 18

At 12:24 pm, the sun was directly above Bengaluru, leading to an intriguing phenomenon where shadows almost seem to vanish

How did scientists hear humming from the Universe and why is it significant

This marks the first time India's largest telescope, the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, was used for the detection of gravitational waves

Astronomers detect ultra-low freq waves using pulsar and radio telescopes

This is the first time data from an Indian telescope has been used to hunt for gravitational waves

Rare five-planetary alignment: When and where to observe in India

Keep an eye on the night sky to catch a glimpse of five planets coming together for a rare planetary alignment on Saturday, June 17