World’s highest telescope launched in Ladakh to explore cosmic mysteries
The Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) observatory, the world’s highest imaging Cherenkov telescope, has been inaugurated in Hanle, Ladakh, at an elevation surpassing 4,300 metres. This facility is set to advance India’s role in space research and cosmic-ray studies, marking a new milestone in high-energy astrophysics. The observatory aims to explore cosmic phenomena such as supernovae, black holes, and gamma-ray bursts.
Inauguration by Dr Ajit Kumar Mohanty
Dr Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, officially inaugurated the MACE observatory. The event, held during the DAE’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, included the opening of commemorative plaques, highlighting the telescope’s significance in India’s scientific community. According to Dr Mohanty, the observatory’s capabilities will bolster international collaborations and elevate India’s role in multimessenger astronomy.
Indigenous Development by BARC
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) constructed the MACE observatory in collaboration with the Electronics Corporation of India Limited, along with other Indian industry partners. As Asia’s largest imaging Cherenkov telescope, the facility underscores the strength of indigenous engineering and technological capability in India. Dr S M Yusuf, Director of the Physics Group at BARC, emphasized that the MACE telescope would greatly enhance India’s expertise in space and cosmic-ray research.
Future Prospects and Community Involvement
Additional Secretary Ajay Ramesh Sule addressed the local community and students, encouraging them to consider careers in science and technology, especially within the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve (HDSR), where the MACE observatory is located. The event also included the release of a pictorial compilation capturing the journey of the MACE project, along with a felicitation ceremony for Hanle’s village leaders, school headmaster, and lama of the Hanle Gompa, honouring their support for the initiative.
Aiming for Global Research Contributions
The MACE telescope’s advanced imaging capability will contribute to global high-energy gamma-ray observation. It will help in expanding understanding of cosmic phenomena. Dr Mohanty highlighted that this observatory will help align India’s research with international efforts, positioning the nation as a leader in high-energy astrophysics.
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Science
NASA’s TRACERS Mission Rescheduled for 2025 to Explore Solar Wind and Earth’s Magnetic Field
NASA has refocused its Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) launch date to no earlier than 2025 to provide more time for the mission crew to prepare. This mission is about a pair of satellite studying about how the solar wind, interacts with and enters Earth’s magnetosphere, the region around Earth dominated by our planet’s magnetic field. Understanding and eventually forecasting how energy from our Sun enters our planet and may affect assets depending on space and the earth depends on research into this interaction.
Mission Objectives
According to NASA, the TRACERS spacecraft will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The twin spacecraft will travel around 341 miles above the planet through polar cusps, a short area of the earth’s magnetic field where solar wind is concentrated and funneled into our atmosphere.
In order to investigate the location and frequency of a phenomena known as magnetic reconnection near the outer borders of Earth’s magnetic field, the TRACERS mission will fly across the northern polar cusp many times each day.
The explosive energy transfer where two magnetic fields meet, particularly in the magnetopause region where the solar wind meets Earth’s magnetosphere is termed as magnetic reconnection . This event can cause solar wind particles to enter the atmosphere at high speeds, igniting the northern and southern lights but also creating hazardous conditions for astronauts and satellites, damaging ground infrastructure, communication signals, and aviation.
Mission oversight
David Miles is leading this TRACERS mission at the University of Iowa and it is managed by the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington oversees the project through the Heliophysics Explorers Program Office at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. As part of the agency’s VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract, the launch service is being provided by NASA’s Launch Services Program, which is headquartered at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in collaboration with NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
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Related Stories
Expectations were high at the start of this month when a group of University of Cambridge astronomers reported they had found the “strongest evidence yet” of life on an exoplanet called K2-18b. Their assertions sprang from the detection of dimethyl sulphide (DMS), a gas linked to biological activity in the atmosphere of Earth. Conducted using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the finding suggested that the planet may be a watery, habitable world. But a detailed examination of the facts now begs grave doubt about the veracity of their bold assertions.
Skepticism Grows Over K2-18b Life Claims Amid New Analysis and Calls for More Data
As per a study posted on April 22, Jake Taylor of the University of Oxford applied a neutral statistical test that detected no clear molecular signatures in the JWST data, just a flat line. The studies suggest the signal is either noisy or too weak to provide strong conclusions. The first Cambridge-led study revealed a three-sigma DMS detection much below the five-sigma threshold usually required to prove major scientific discoveries. Critics also questioned the absence of supporting compounds like ethane and claimed the models employed may have exaggerated DMS levels.
Astrobiologists Eddie Schwieterman and Michaela Musilova note that current evidence doesn’t meet strict criteria for proving life; thus, there is a need for multiple independent teams to analyse the same dataset.
Further complicating matters, new research indicates K2-18b may orbit too close to its star to retain liquid water, possibly excluding it from the habitable zone. Adding to the scepticism, DMS was recently detected on a cold comet, suggesting that such molecules can exist without life. Lead author of the original research, Madhusudhan, has supported the findings but discounted Taylor’s test as too simple and “irrelevant” for their assertions.
Most scientists agree that confirmation or denial of DMS existence in K2-18b’s atmosphere depends on additional solid, peer-reviewed research. The argument is still in progress, an ongoing narrative illustrating how science develops not by certainty but by questioning and correction.
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