Indian astronomer discovers black hole that could fit 100 million suns inside it (GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- Recently, an Indian astronomer has detected the most distant black hole ever seen in X-rays, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope.
- The black hole's mass is estimated to fall between 10 and 100 million Suns.
Details:
- The black hole, found in a galaxy named UHZ1, is at an early stage of growth that has never been observed before, with its mass being similar to that of its host galaxy.
- This significant finding could potentially explain how some of the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed.
- The research team, led by Akos Bogdan from the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard & Smithsonian, discovered the black hole in the direction of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744, located 3.5 billion light-years from Earth.
- However, data from the Webb telescope revealed that the galaxy is much more distant than the cluster, at 13.2 billion light-years from Earth when the universe was only 3% of its current age.
Key Highlights:
- The observations with Chandra showed the presence of intense, superheated, X-ray-emitting gas in this galaxy, a trademark for a growing supermassive black hole.
- The light from the galaxy and the X-rays from gas around its supermassive black hole are magnified by about a factor of four by intervening matter in Abell 2744 due to gravitational lensing, enhancing the infrared signal detected by Webb and allowing Chandra to detect the faint X-ray source.
- They found strong evidence that the newly discovered black hole was born massive, with its mass estimated to fall between 10 and 100 million Suns, based on the brightness and energy of the X-rays.
- This mass range is similar to that of all the stars in the galaxy where it lives, which contrasts with black holes in the centers of galaxies in the nearby universe that usually contain only about a tenth of a percent of the mass of their host galaxy's stars.
Way Forward:
- This discovery is crucial for understanding how some supermassive black holes can reach colossal masses soon after the Big Bang.
Krishi, the first ever AI powered solution for automated agricultural news monitoring and analysis
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) in collaboration with Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Wadhwani AI) developed Krishi 24/7.
Salient features:
- It is the first-ever AI-powered solution for automated agricultural news monitoring and analysis, with support from Google.org.
- Krishi 24/7 will aid DA&FW to identify relevant news, generate timely alerts, and take prompt action to protect farmers' interests and promote sustainable agricultural growth through improved decision-making.
- The introduction of Krishi 24/7 addresses the need for an efficient mechanism to identify and manage agricultural news articles of interest to aid timely decision-making.
- The tool scans news articles in multiple languages and translates them into English.
- It extracts essential information from news articles, such as headline, crop name, event type, date, location, severity, summary, and source link, ensuring that the ministry receives timely updates on relevant events published on the web.
Significance:
- It is intended to provide a near real time monitoring of the news articles on Agri ecosystem published online which will assist the DA&FW to identify news of interest and provide a comprehensive mechanism to shortlist events, create alerts, and take timely action.
Jal Diwali Women for Water, Water for Women Campaign launched
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
Why in news?
- The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) unveiled a progressive initiative "Women for Water, Water for Women Campaign" under its flagship scheme - Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
- It was launched in partnership with the Ministry's National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM). Odisha Urban Academy is the knowledge partner.
- This campaign celebrates "Jal Diwali" from 7th November till 9th November, 2023.
Key Highlights:
- The campaign aims to provide a platform for inclusion of women in water governance.
- They will be given first-hand knowledge about water treatment processes through visits to Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) in their respective cities.
- These visits will elucidate the vital procedures involved in delivering clean and safe drinking water to households.
- Additionally, women will gain insight into water quality testing protocols which ensure that citizens get water of the required quality.
- The overarching goal of the campaign is to instill a sense of ownership and belonging among women towards water infrastructure.
Phase I:
- The phase I of "Women for Water, Water for Women Campaign", “Jal Diwali” shall witness participation from all States/ UTs (barring the 5 States under Model Code of Conduct), with an expected participation of more than 15,000 SHG women, nationwide.
The focus areas of the campaign include:
- Familiarizing the women with functioning of Water Treatment Plants & water testing facilities
- Promote inclusivity & involvement through souvenirs & articles created by Women SHGs
- Familiarizing & educating the women about AMRUT scheme & its impact on water infrastructure
- The anticipated outcomes of the campaign include increased awareness and knowledge on water treatment, sense of ownership and responsibility, promotion of inclusivity, empowerment of SHGs, positive community impact and model for future initiatives.
Way Forward:
- The campaign aims to address issues of gender equality by promoting inclusivity and diversity in sectors traditionally dominated by men.
