First ever images of black hole: How this landmark achievement came about

Apart from the basic science insights EHT has already produced, the technologies and algorithms developed for this research are likely to find many other applications

The release of the first ever images of a black hole on April 10, marked the culmination of an enormous collaborative effort that lasted several years. It involved a pool of 200-odd scientists spread across 13 different institutions, and drawn from multiple disciplines. In some ways, the most impressive contributions came from the mathematicians and computer scientists who patched data together to create the images.

This was a very impressive feat. The black hole in question is 55 million light years away and occupies less volume of space than the solar system. “Zooming” in on it required a telescope powerful enough to read a newspaper on a Paris newsstand, while sitting in New York. A single telescope that powerful (capable of capturing a 20 microsecond-arc of a circle) would be about the size of the Earth itself.

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) actually consists of eight different radio-telescopes spread across four continents, including Antarctica. This method of putting together data from different telescopes to create a single image is called Very Long Baseline Interferometry. The data was synchronised using atomic clocks. Even VLBI could not produce complete images for an object that small and distant. It was like a jigsaw puzzle with many pieces missing. and very clever algorithms were required to fill in missing details.

The measurements derived by EHT tell us that the target, the black hole at the centre of the Virgo A Galaxy (also known as M87 and NGC486) is a “supermassive” black hole. It has a mass some 6.5 billion times that of the sun and a radius of about 40 million km, which is about the distance from the sun to Neptune. This is the black disc in the centre of the image. The event horizon – the orange ring around the black disc – is caused by superhot matter, travelling at great speed…

India’s heaviest satellite GSAT-11 launched from French Guiana: ESA

GSAT-11 would play a vital role in providing broadband services across the country

Latest News: GSAT-11, the heaviest satellite built by Isro (Indian Space Research Organization), was launched successfully early on Wednesday morning according to a tweet by the European State Agency.

The satellite was onboard Ariane-5 VA246, which blasted off from Kourou Launch Zone in French Guiana at 20:37 GMT. The 5,854-kg satellite, almost double the biggest one built or launched by Isro till date, was launched aboard the European launch vehicle Ariane 5 ECA.|GSAT 11  

The heavy-duty Ariane-5 vehicle was also carrying GEO-KOMPSAT-2A for the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

Once this big bird is in the space and starts operations, satellite-based broadband will become a reality in India. Besides, it will also significantly contribute towards bridging the divide between digital urban and rural India and will enable the next generation application such as in-flight connectivity, says Isro. Currently, India has nearly 450 million internet users.

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Rocket launch in New Zealand brings quick and cheap space access

The rocket dubbed “It’s Business Time” took off just before 5 pm local time from a spaceport in New Zealand

Cheap, quick access to space has officially arrived — and in some serious style.

On a late Sunday afternoon in New Zealand, Rocket Lab successfully launched its third rocket. Dozens of employees gathered at the company’s headquarters in Auckland clad in Rocket Lab’s black-and-red colors and let out a series of primordial screams as the rocket took off, flew into space and dropped its satellite payload into orbit.

While issues had delayed this launch for months, Sunday’s event went off without a hitch. Rocket Lab has now established itself in the lead position of a frenetic, worldwide competition to change the economics and speed at which people can get things into space.

“It’s game on,” said Peter Beck, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, in an interview outside of Rocket Lab’s mission control in Auckland. “This era has been coming and coming. Well, the small launch race is over. We have proven it can be done.”|International News

The rocket dubbed “It’s Business Time” took off just before 5 pm local time from a spaceport in New Zealand. It carried six satellites into low earth orbit. Two of them belonged to the start-up Spire and will be used to track ships, planes and weather in remote parts of the world, while Tyvak Nano-Satellite

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Water to space: India, Israel ink 7 key strategic pacts during Modi visit

Sign a $40-mn R&D fund for joint innovation in agriculture, water, energy and technology

India and Israel on Wednesday elevated their ties to the “strategic partnership” level with a vow to do “much more together” to combat growing radicalisation and terrorism and pitched for “strong measures” against those financing and providing sanctuaries to terror groups.(Economy news)

The issue of terror and “strategic threats” along with various other topics like cooperation in defence and security, water, agriculture, space and West Asia figured prominently in the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu here on Wednesday.

After the wide-ranging talks, the two sides signed seven pacts covering areas like innovation, water conservation, agriculture and space.

India and Israel also agreed to set up a $40 million fund for industrial Research and Development, and innovation fund, with both countries contributing $20 million each.

“Our goal is to build a relationship that reflects our shared priorities and draws on enduring bonds between our peoples,” Modi, who is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel, said in a joint media appearance with Netanyahu.

India, Israel ink 7 pacts 

India and Israel signed 7 agreements to step-up cooperation in key sectors like space, agriculture and water conservation after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in-depth talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu

• MoU signed between Department of Science & Technology and Israel’s National Technological Innovation Authority for setting up of $40 million worth India-Israel Industrial R&D & Technical Innovation Fund 

• Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation, and Israel’s Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy & Water Resources signed a pact on National Campaign for Water Conservation in India 

• The second one was signed between Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and the Ministry of National Infrastructure, Energy & Water Resources on state water utility reform in India 

• In the farm sector, the two countries have agreed upon India-Israel development cooperation - a three-year work programme in agriculture from 2018 to 2020 

• They also agreed for cooperation between the Isro and the Israel Space Agency (ISA) regarding cooperation in atomic clocks 

• Besides, separate MoUs were signed between Isro and ISA for cooperation in GEO-LEO optical link, and in electric propulsion for small satellites 

Modi, on the second day of his three-day visit, said India and Israel live in “complex geographies” and are aware of “strategic threats” to regional peace and stability.

“India has suffered first-hand the violence and hatred spread by terror. So has Israel,” he said, adding the two leaders had “agreed to do much more together to protect our strategic interests and also cooperate to combat growing radicalisation and terrorism, including in cyberspace.”(Read more)