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Italy's Mount Etna eruption captured from space as ash, lava spews out

Mount Etna, the towering volcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, has once again captured the world's attention with its eruption.

The event was so significant that it was observed from space by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, which used shortwave-infrared bands to highlight the lava flow at the time of acquisition.

The eruption sent a dramatic plume of ash and lava into the sky, visible from various parts of the Mediterranean island. Social media was abuzz with footage showing the fiery spectacle as molten rock and ash were ejected into the night sky. Despite the potential hazards, operations at Catania Airport, located near the base of the volcano, have not been disrupted.

Mount Etna stands at an impressive height of approximately 3,329 meters and is known for its almost continuous volcanic activity. This recent eruption is part of a series of events that have characterized the volcano's behavior, with frequent ash emissions posing risks to the surrounding areas, including the densely populated city of Catania

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2023 'virtually certain' to be warmest year in 1,25,000 years

2023 is virtually certain to be the hottest in 1,25,000 years according to European Union scientists, who made the assessment after data showed October 2023 was the world's hottest October in that period.

Last month smashed the previous October temperature record set in 2019 by a substantial 0.4 degrees Celsius margin, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)

C3S Deputy Director Samantha Burgess described the October temperature anomaly as “very extreme.”

The excessive heat is a result of ongoing greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, combined with the emergence of the El Nino weather pattern this year, which warms the surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The only other time a monthly temperature record has been exceeded by such a wide margin was in September 2023. C3S Deputy Director Burgess said the repeated record-breaking monthly temperatures are becoming less surprising over time.

Michael Mann, a climate scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, told Reuters that most El Nino years now set temperature records because the extra heat from El Nino is added to the steady increase in warming from greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change is fueling more frequent and intense extreme weather events like the devastating floods in Libya, severe South American heatwaves, and Canada’s worst wildfire season on record this year.

“We must not let the devastating floods, wildfires, storms, and heatwaves seen this year become the new normal,” said Piers Forster, a climate scientist at the University of Leeds, adding that rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade could cut the rate of warming in half.

Despite increasingly ambitious emissions reduction targets, global CO2 emissions hit record highs in 2022 as countries have so far failed to curb emissions

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Do aliens exist? Here's what Nasa's findings on UFOs say and don't say

In a comprehensive 33-page report prepared by an independent team appointed by NASA, a key point emerged: the prevailing negative perception of UFOs presents a significant impediment to data collection efforts. Nevertheless, NASA officials expressed their commitment to destigmatize these phenomena, which they term "UAPs" (unidentified anomalous phenomena).

Here's what all NASA's UAP panel found

The panel was unable to definitively determine the nature of the UAPs it investigated.

The panel found that the majority of UAP reports could be attributed to known objects or phenomena, such as balloons, drones, or aircraft.

However, the panel also found that a small number of UAP reports could not be explained by known phenomena.

They concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that the UAPs it investigated are extraterrestrial in origin.

It recommended that Nasa develop a standardized system for collecting and analyzing UAP data.

The UAP team also recommended that Nasa use artificial intelligence and other technologies to improve its understanding of UAPs.

The team emphasised the importance of transparency and collaboration in the study of UAPs.

They also acknowledged the public's interest in UAPs and pledged to keep the public informed of its findings.

They also called for increasing funding for UAP research, developing better methods for collecting and analysing UAP data, working with other government agencies and international partners to study UAPs and educating the public about UAPs

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Aditya L1 to leave Earth forever tonight, begin 15 lakh km journey to study Sun

India's first space-based solar observatory, Aditya-L1, is set to embark on a significant phase of its mission. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has said that the spacecraft will undergo the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion (TL1I) in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

The TL1 insertion is a send-off from Earth that will be conducted on September 19 at around 2:00 am IST.

The L1 point offers an uninterrupted view of the Sun, making it an ideal location for observing solar activities and their impact on space weather. Once Aditya-L1 reaches this point, it will enter a halo orbit and remain there for the duration of its mission. This strategic positioning ensures continuous observation of the Sun, free from any occultation or eclipses.

The mission's objectives align with scientists' quest to understand the intricate dynamics of the space surrounding the Earth-Sun system. The Lagrange points, named after the renowned Italian-French mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange, offer an ideal equilibrium between the gravitational pull of the Sun and Earth and the centripetal force required for small objects to remain in synchronized motion with them.

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Chess World Cup 2023: Praggnanandhaa finishes as runner-up, Magnus Carlsen wins maiden World Cup

Chess World Cup 2023 Final: World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen won his maiden World Cup crown after beating India's teenage sensation R Praggnanandhaa in the tie-breakers of the final in Baku on Thursday, August 24. It was the first World Cup crown for Carlsen as the 32-year-old added the missing piece to his decorated trophy cabinet.

Magnus Carlsen battled against a bout of food poisoning as he used all his experience to outclass the young Indian, who had developed a great reputation for being a giant killer.

With the silver medal finish at the Chess World Cup, Praggnanandhaa booked his berth at the Candidates Tournament, becoming only the second Indian to do so.

Praggnanandhaa might have lost the big final in Baku, but the 18-year-old from Chennai has etched his name in the history books of Indian chess. He had become the first Indian after Viswanathan Anand to reach the final and was a victory away from joining the Indian legend at the top.

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Smooth landing for Chandrayaan-3, giant leap for India

It all began in 2008 when a small Indian probe hurtling down from above crashed into the Moon. On its 25-minute flight, it made the biggest discovery of them all - signatures of water. Nearly 15 years after that intentional crash, India landed on the Moon with Chandrayaan-3 on Wednesday.

The milestone comes nearly four years after its predecessor, Chandrayaan-2, crashed during the landing attempt. An entire nation shared the pain with the team at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).

On Wednesday, India got redemption as Isro guided Vikram through a tricky dance of gravity and speed to the surface of the Moon.

As the lander, Vikram, began its descent around 5:45 pm from nearly 25 kilometers above its destination, 1.4 billion Indians hoped and prayed for it to stick to the landing. And Vikram did just that.

At exactly 6:03 pm, Vikram relayed to the Mission Control in Bengaluru that it had indeed conquered the Moon and the celebration began.

Chandrayaan-3 had been looping around the Moon for over 15 days after entering into lunar orbit on August 5, completing a nearly 4 lakh-kilometer-long trek between Earth and its destination. Launched from India's Sriharikota on July 14, the spacecraft took a long route on its journey as it used Earth's gravity to gain additional speed and hurtle through the vacuum of space.

What makes Chandrayaan-3 even more worthy is that it landed in a region that has so far remained untouched and unexplored. The lander touched down on the southern polar region of the Moon, which is known for notoriously being hidden from Earth's view with temperatures varying from over 50 degrees Celsius during the day, and minus 200 degrees Celsius during the lunar night.

India became the first country in the world to land a spacecraft in this region and fourth in the world overall after the US, Russia, and China.

Peppered with thousands of craters of uneven height and depth, and hundreds of obstacles rising out of the ground, the terrain is one of the most challenging to land on when it comes to interplanetary locations. Russia lost its Luna-25 just days ahead of Chandrayaan-3's landing attempt. It was targeting the same region around 120-150 kilometers away from where Vikram has set camp.

Now that the spacecraft has landed, all eyes are on the science that it will do for the next 14 days during which this region is illuminated by sunlight. Isro has said that once the region goes dark again, both Vikram and Pragyan rover could cease to exist. The mission has a lifetime of one lunar day or 14 Earth days.

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European wildfire, deadly heatwaves were driven by climate change

Europe is once again grappling with scorching temperatures this summer, as wildfires rage from the Mediterranean to Spain.

The escalating intensity and frequency of these heatwaves are driven by climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Human activities have led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, raising the planet's temperature by approximately 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. This warmer baseline has amplified the severity of extreme heat events.

However, other factors also contribute to the occurrence of heatwaves. In Europe, atmospheric circulation plays a significant role. To determine the exact impact of climate change on specific heatwaves, scientists conduct "attribution studies".

These studies involve simulating the modern climate hundreds of times and comparing it to simulations of a climate without human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.

For instance, World Weather Attribution scientists found that a record-breaking heatwave in western Europe in June 2019 was 100 times more likely to occur now than if humans had not altered the climate.

Despite the current situation, heatwaves are predicted to worsen. The global average temperature is already driving extreme heat events, with heat extremes that would have occurred once every decade now happening three times more frequently.

Unless humans cease adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, heatwaves will continue to escalate.

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Russia’s Luna-25 crashes on the Moon, Moscow declares mission failed

Russia's ambitious lunar mission, the Luna-25, has ended in failure as the spacecraft spun out of control and ultimately crashed into the surface of the Moon. This marks a disappointing end to Russia's first moon mission in nearly half a century, as the country's state space corporation, Roskosmos, announced the tragic incident.

The Luna-25 spacecraft encountered a catastrophic failure shortly after a critical maneuver as it was being positioned into its pre-landing orbit on Saturday. In a statement released by Roskosmos, the agency revealed that contact with the spacecraft had been lost due to an unforeseen issue during this critical phase of the mission.

"The apparatus moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the Moon," Roskosmos stated in their official announcement, conveying the tragic outcome of the Luna-25 mission. This abrupt and unexpected end marks a significant setback for Russia's space exploration ambitions and has left the scientific and space communities worldwide in shock.

In an official statement on Telegram, Roskosmos said, "On August 19, in accordance with the flight program of the Luna-25 spacecraft, it was planned to issue an impulse to form its pre-landing elliptical orbit. At about 14:57 Moscow time, communication with the Luna-25 spacecraft was interrupted. The measures taken on August 19 and 20 to search for the device and get in contact with it did not produce any results."

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Understanding Chandrayaan-3 landing site: Why soft landing on Moon's dark side is difficult?

In another failed endeavour to the Lunar South Pole, the robotic Luna-25 spacecraft appeared to have crashed into the moon’s surface after an off-orbital adjustment, the space agency Roscosmos said on Sunday.

Earlier, three other lunar south-pole landing attempts in the past 4 years — by India (Chandrayaan-2), Japan and an Israeli nonprofit– failed right before the last few minutes of descending to the surface, even after successfully manoeuvring in orbit around the moon.

So, what makes the soft landing near the lunar south pole incredibly difficult compared to the lunar equator?

India Today’s OSINT(Open Source Investigations) team delves into the geological phenomena near Chandrayaan-3’s proposed primary landing site(PLS). The south pole of Moon’s rugged terrain lies in the shade of perpetual darkness for billions of years with plummeting temperatures- where researchers had previously discovered the presence of water ice.

Half a century ago, the Apollo astronauts left transient seismometers on the lunar surface. They discovered that the moon was alive and kicking. Some tremors deep below the surface were likely caused by Earth’s gravitational pull. Others were vibrations from meteorite impacts.

These are shallow moonquakes, just a few miles beneath the moon’s surface. But unlike the other categories of quake, these convulsions couldn’t be satisfactorily explained then.

Several years down the line, researchers concluded that such quakes were triggered across myriad young faults by a combination of escaping internal heat and Earth’s gravitational pull.

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India's Skyroot signs agreement with French firm to launch satellite constellation

While this Live Blog stops for the moment. We will continue updating it in the coming days as Chandrayaan-3 cruises ahead in the vacuum of space. So, keep following this LIVE blog for daily updates on the mission.

Once again, thank you all for joining us and being part of this historic journey as India eyes redemption on the Moon. Godspeed Chandrayaan3.

We leave you with the moment LVM3 roared through the skies of India to the Moon.  

For now, it's a good night. See you all soon with new updates."Climate change and the increase in human activity have a direct impact on ecosystems and populations. It is essential to have the means to observe, monitor, and predict these events," Promethee said in a statement.Skyroot said that as Earth-to-space transportation remains expensive, access to space has been limited to very few governments and enterprises. Yet space has transformed our lives for decades through GPS, Satellite internet and television, weather prediction, disaster response, understanding the universe, and many others.

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India signs global Artemis accord with US, to share data resources over Moon mission

India has signed the Artemis Accords, a US-led effort to send humans to the moon again by 2025, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond. The program aims to build a permanent presence in lunar orbit and on the surface, over half a century after the Apollo missions ended.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has welcomed India as the 27th Artemis Accords signatory. “On behalf of NASA, on behalf of President Biden and Vice President Harris, we are very pleased to grow our partnership with India here on Earth and in space,” said Administrator Bill Nelson. This agreement between India and the US aims to boost the cooperation between the two nations and explore the domain beyond the boundaries of Earth.

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Titan is destroyed: What happens during an implosion

A deep-sea submersible, Titan, carrying five people on a voyage to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, has been lost under the sea. The submersible was destroyed due to an implosion, the United States Coast Guard, which launched a search operation for Titan after it lost contact earlier this week, said late Thursday. Authorities said that all the five crew members on the submersible Titan were killed in a "catastrophic implosion".

A "catastrophic implosion," which destroyed the Titan submersible, would have occurred with incredible force and speed due to the crushing pressure that's present in deep water. It's not clear how deep the Titan was when it imploded. But, the remains of the Titanic, the ship that the submersible was attempting to survey, rest on a seabed in the North Atlantic at a depth of around 3,800 meters (12,400 feet). At that level, the water pressure is nearly 6,000 pounds per square inch (psi; a unit of pressure).As a comparison, the average pressure at sea level is 14.7 psi while the bite of a large great white shark exerts a force of nearly 4,000 psi.

The Titan, built by a company called OceanGate, had made previous dives to the wreck of the Titanic. The vessel, which had limited oxygen supplies, went missing earlier this week after making a fresh dive into the ocean to explore the wreck. A massive search and rescue operation led by the US, Canadian and French agencies was launched to locate the submersible.

The operation came to an end Thursday night with the US Coast Guard confirming it had located Titan's debris around the site of the Titanic wreck. Officials said the debris pieces from the missing submersible were "consistent with catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber".

EXPERTS SAY...

Roderick Smith, an engineering professor at Imperial College, London, said the accident was likely due to a "failure of the pressure hull," but debris will need to be recovered to carry out a full investigation.

And even then, it may be difficult to pinpoint the cause.

"The violence of the implosion means that it may be very difficult to determine the sequence of events," Smith told news agency AFP.

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Siberia's megaslump hides 6,50,000 years old secrets

Known to locals as the gateway to the underworld, this ground in Siberia has remained frozen for over six lakh years, becoming the second oldest ever discovered on the planet.

Amid the permafrost lies the Batagay megaslump, which is the world’s largest permafrost landslide, which is suffering the impact of increased human activity in the region. The megaslump has grown to cover an area of 0.8 square kilometers and its sediments preserve the evidence of the ancient environment and climate that once covered this region. The slump is now part of a series of other studies that include Canada's Yukon, which is nearly 7,00,000 years old.Permafrost is the layer of soil, sediment, or rock that remains at or below zero degrees Celsius for two or more consecutive years. It is predominantly found in the polar regions and high-altitude mountainous areas. Permafrost acts as a natural freezer, preserving evidence of Earth's past and its climate."We can now just add another site to the map so that we can really start reconstructing the climate and also the environment for this period of time," Thomas Opel, a paleoclimatologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany told LiveScience.His team has now presented their findings based on cryostratigraphic observations (the study of frozen layers in the Earth's crust and dating results, which provide evidence for several periods of permafrost formation and degradation.

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62 new plants that can live without water discovered in Western Ghats

Biologists have discovered 62 new species of plants that can withstand extreme dehydration. The plants belong to the Desiccation-Tolerant Vascular Species that are capable of surviving amid extreme water scarcity.

This species is known for entering a state of dormancy and reviving when water becomes available again. Researchers said that the newly discovered plants could have a wide-ranging role in agriculture, particularly in areas with a scarcity of water.These plants can survive in harsh, arid environments that would be uninhabitable for most others.The Ministry of Science and Technology said that In India, DT plants have been relatively understudied. Although rock outcrops are common landscapes in the Western Ghats (WG), knowledge of DT plants in the region is poor.

A team of researchers from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) Pune have now found 62 new species of the plant and the details have been published in the Nordic Journal of Botany. While 16 of the newly identified species are Indian endemic, and 12 are exclusive to the Western Ghats outcrops.

"In addition to rock outcrops, tree trunks in the partially shaded forests were also found to be crucial habitats for DT species, as per the study," the ministry said, adding that findings of the study can provide valuable insights into the biodiversity and ecology of the Western Ghats and aid in the conservation of DT plant species.

Led by Dr. Mandar Datar, the team analysed outcrop species for their DT properties by seasonal field observations, followed by relative water content estimation protocols. Nine genera of DT plants are reported as new, also from a global perspective, with Tripogon capillatus representing the first record of an epiphytic DT angiosperm.

"Besides, understanding the mechanisms by which DT plants can tolerate dehydration, could lead to the development of crops that are more drought-resistant and require less water," the Ministry said in a release.

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After Odisha train tragedy, Railways to ensure signalling equipment secured with double locks

Days after the horrific Odisha train crash, which claimed the lives of 278 people, the Railways has launched a week-long safety drive to ensure that all compounds housing signaling equipment are provided with “double locking arrangements”. The root cause of the three-train accident in Odisha’s Balasore district is suspected to be a change in the electronic interlocking system.On Monday, the Indian Railways issued a circular on a week-long safety drive, launched immediately to ensure goomties located within the railway station limits are provided with “double locking arrangements.”The railways would check all goomties housing signalling equipment within station limits and ensure that they are being provided with double locking arrangements.Goomty is a small cabin or small structure covering lever frame and other fixed equipment, at level-crossings and near railway stations.The circular was issued to all managers of all zonal Railways. Senior officials have been told to ensure SMS alert is generated on opening/closure of all relay rooms.“All relay rooms in stations should be checked and ensured for proper working of double locking arrangement it should also be checked and ensured that there is data logging and generation of SMS alert for opening and closing of door of these relay rooms,” the circular read.Further, the authorities have been asked to make sure that the system of disconnection and reconnection for S&T (signalling and traffic) equipment is being followed strictly as per laid down norms and guidelines.According to the railways, the safety drive will check 100 per cent of these in all locations and “super checked to add another layer of checking by officers in that zone”.

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Odisha train accident: Are safety features of Indian Railways enough?

Following the Odisha train accident, the focus shifts to asking the necessary questions. India Today's OSINT team compares safety features on Indian railways with those in other countries.

The crumbled train coaches have now been cleared and the jumbled tracks straightened after workers tirelessly laboured to restore the broken link of the South Eastern Railway, a crucial network for millions of daily-wage workers who travel cheaply on superfast trains that cut across economic capitals. Officials have focussed the investigation into the cause of the crash, saying that while they were looking into the malfunction of an electronic signalling system, they cannot rule out human error - or sabotage. A preliminary government report described it as a "three-way accident" that involved two passenger trains and a stationary cargo train. The Coromandel Express, about 270 km from Kolkata, with 1250 passengers onboard, was crossing the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, running at a speed of about 128 kilometres per hour (kmph); it did not have a scheduled stop there.At the same time, the Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express, with 1,039 passengers onboard, was exiting the station and heading in the opposite direction.At about 7 pm, the Coromandel Express approaching from the north suddenly entered the loop railway line where a freight train loaded with heavy iron ore was standing.As the Coromandel Express smashed into the freight train, nearly 20 of the passenger coaches derailed and formed a mangled pile - some also flanged into a barren field on the other side and others struck the tail of the Yesvantpur-Howrah Superfast Express, derailing 2-3 of its coaches.Later, an Indian Railways official said that a problem with the signal system was most likely the overall cause of the crash, though investigations were still underway.After the horrific Odisha train accident, the safety mechanisms of the Indian Railway have again come to the fore, particularly a report by the Controller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in 2022 that flagged multiple shortcomings and made some recommendations to improve the safety of the country's major transport system. But what are the technological parameters of Indian Railways that work towards preventing such accidents?India Today's OSINT team analyses the capabilities and safety features of India's railway system that helps in protecting the trains from head-on collisions. Were they present on the Coromandel Express? Were they functioning? And the ultimate question is, whether this accident could have been averted or not.

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Saudi’s first ever astronauts set to fly to Space Station, make history

A private mission to the International Space Station (ISS) organized by Axiom Space is due to blast off from Florida on Sunday, carrying the first two Saudi astronauts to go to the orbiting laboratory.

Rayyanah Barnawi, a breast cancer researcher, will become the first Saudi woman to voyage into space and will be joined on the mission by fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni, a fighter pilot.The team also includes Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who will be making her fourth flight to the ISS, and John Shoffner, a businessman from Tennessee who will serve as pilot.They are due to spend around 10 days on board the ISS, where they should arrive around 1:30 pm on Monday."Being the first Saudi woman astronaut, representing the region, it's a great pleasure and honor that I'm very happy to carry," said Barnawi at a recent press conference.A career fighter pilot, Al-Qarni said he has "always had the passion of exploring the unknown and just admiring the sky and the stars.""It is a great opportunity for me to pursue this kind of passion that I have, and now maybe just fly among the stars."The mission is not Saudi Arabia's first foray into space.In 1985, Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, an air force pilot, took part in a US-organized space voyage.But the space mission involving a Saudi woman is the latest move by the oil-rich Gulf kingdom, where women only gained the right to drive a few years ago, to revamp its ultraconservative image.The kingdom established the Saudi Space Commission in 2018 and launched a program last year to send astronauts into space.