A team of international astrophysicists has found a new explanation for the early composition of our solar system.
The team has found that radioactive nuclei found in the earliest meteorites, dating back billions of years, could have been delivered by a nearby dying giant star, six times the mass of the sun.
Maria Lugaro from Monash University said the findings could change our current ideas on the origin of the solar system.
"We have known about the early presence of these radioactive nuclei in meteorites since the 1960s, but we do not know where they originated from. The presence of the radioactive nuclei has been previously linked to a nearby supernova explosion, but we are showing now that these nuclei are more compatible with an origin from the winds coming from a large dying star," Lugaro said.
The conclusion was reached by combining stellar observations from telescopes with recently developed theoretical models reproduced on powerful computers of how stars evolve and which nuclear reaction occurs within their interiors.
"Within one million years of the formation of the solar system the radioactive nuclei decayed inside the rocks where they were trapped, releasing high-energy photons, which caused the rocks to heat."
"Since much of earth's water is believed to have originated from these first rocks, the possibility of life on earth depends on their heating history and, in turn, on the presence of radioactive nuclei." Lugaro said.
"What we need to do now is investigate the probability that a dying giant star could have actually been nearby our then young solar system and polluted it with radioactive nuclei," he said.
The findings have been published in Meteoritic and Planetary Science.
For an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilot chasing a target at Mach 2.5 or more than twice the speed of sound and yet not managing to play catch seems like something out of a sci-fi film. But for Air Marshal S. Mukerji, chasing the sun's shadow during the total solar eclipse on Oct 24, 1995, that's exactly what happened.
Heralding the IAF's participation in scientific study of total solar eclipse, Mukerji, presently the Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel at Air Headquarters and the then commanding officer of IAF's only MiG-25 reconnaissance squadron based at Bareilly, undertook a sortie in the giant plane to record the celestial event. He got the rare opportunity to film the Sun's corona from an astounding altitude of 80,000 feet.
"We flew at Mach 2.5 in the path of the eclipse at 80,000 feet along the planned central axis of the eclipse over Neem ka Thana (in Rajasthan's Sikar district)," recalled Mukerji of his historic sortie.
The sortie finds a mention in his flying log book simply as "Supersonic Profile".
"The weather and visibility were not any constraints as clarity at stratospheric levels is far better than that nearer the ground," he said.
After the total solar eclipse of 1898 over India, the next occurrence took place in 1980. And in the subsequent total solar eclipse in 1995, the IAF assisted the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in their quest to film this celestial alignment. This was possible with aviation speeds streaking way past the supersonic barrier.
With a manual camera mounted above the instrument panel, a special lead and button provided to the other pilot, Wing Commander Y.S. Babu, seated in the front cockpit, the duo, with special solar filters on their visors flew straight towards the Sun for a minute and 24 seconds, photographing never-before seen images of the spectacle during the total solar eclipse.
"A lot of preparation went into the sortie. It had to be charted and axis programmed on the inertial navigation system, with briefings by scientists armed with NASA charts. The aircraft was first jacked up and the angle-of-attack simulated on the ground to harmonize the camera along the axis.
"In addition, the aircraft's belly camera could capture the shadow beneath that was 85 km in width," Mukerji explained.
During Wednesday's eclipse, a 10-member team of scientists and a camera team will be flying in an AN-32 transport aircraft from the Agra airbase in an endeavour to film the event. The aircraft will fly along the central axis on a north-westerly direction at an approximate altitude of 25,000 feet, turn around at Khajuraho and land back at Agra.
This apart, a Mirage-2000 trainer will also take off from the Gwalior airbase and the pilot in the rear seat will take photographs as the fighter flies on an angular track to the central axis of the Sun's shadow.
Did you know animals and birds often prepare for sleep or behave confusedly during total solar eclipse? Well, here are some other little known facts about solar eclipse.
- The longest recorded duration for a total solar eclipse is 7.5 minutes.
- A total solar eclipse will not be visible until the sun is more than 90 percent covered by the moon.
- When the sun is covered 99 percent, day becomes night in the areas where the eclipse is visible.
- In the 5,000-year period - between 2000 BC and 3000 AD - the earth is supposed to witness 11,898 solar eclipses.
- There can be a maximum total five solar eclipses, partial, annular or total in any year, and there are at least two solar eclipses every year somewhere on the earth.
- Total solar eclipses occur once every year or two years and only during a new moon.
- Every eclipse begins at sunrise at some point in its track and ends at sunset about half way around the globe from the starting point. Wednesday's total solar eclipse will start at sunrise in India and end at sunset in the eastern hemisphere.
- Nearly identical eclipses (total, annular or partial) occur after every 18 years and 11 days, called the Saros Cycle.
- During a solar eclipse, moon shadow travels at a speed of 1770.28 km per hour at the equator and up to 8,046.73 kmph at the north and south poles.
- During an eclipse, the moon's shadow is at the most 273.59 km wide, and in the path of totality, local temperatures can drop by as much as 20 degrees Celsius during a total solar eclipse.
- Prior to the advent of modern atomic clocks, studies of ancient records of solar eclipses enabled astronomers to detect a 0.001 second per century slowing down in earth's rotation.
Major Hindu temples across India will shut their doors for a day July 22 to ward off the negative energy said to be generated by the total solar eclipse, which, priests and spiritual gurus say, weaken the natural "positive aura" of idols in shrines.
While the Venkateswara temple in Tirumala will close its gates at 9 p.m. July 21 to 8 a.m. July 22, the Lakshmi-Narayan temple in the capital, also known as the Birla Temple, will remain closed during the period of the eclipse .
"The temple usually opens at 4.30 a.m. But on Wednesday, it will open at 7.30 a.m. During the eclipse, we will keep tulsi leaves, holy water from the Ganges, kusha (grass) and rudraksha inside the sanctum as a shield. After the eclipse, we will sprinkle water from the Ganges to purify the temple before getting on with the morning rituals. The scriptures day it is inauspicious to invoke the deities during eclipse because the shadow on the sun depletes psychological strength," Ravindra Nagar, the head priest of the Birla Temple, told IANS.
All Birla temples across the country will remain shut during the eclipse.
A statement by the Tirumala Turupati Devasthanam, which manages the famous temple at Tirupati, said 'ekantham' or service to the lord, performed in the morning, will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
The famous Sri Kanakdurga temple at Indrakeeladri hill in Vijaywada, Brahmarambika Mallikarjuna Swamyvari Devasthanam at Srisailam, Sitaramachandra Swamy temple at Bhadrachalam and Satyanarayana Swamy temple at Annavaram in Andhra Pradesh and almost all temples in Kerala will remain closed.
"However, the dhyanalinga shrines remain open. As all temples in India are energy centres, the extreme pull exerted by the combined energies of the sun, moon and the planets during solar eclipse makes it a good time for devotees to visit Dhayanlinga temples and make use of the energy. Dhyanalinga temples are usually meditation space," spiritual guru Jaggi Vasudev, head of the spiritual organisation, Isha Foundation, told IANS from Coimbatore.
As the core of the Dhyanalinga deity, usually Lord Shiva, is solidified mercury, eclipse activates the energy centre and makes it more easily avilable to people, he explained.
In most temples across south India which will remain shut druing the eclipse, the idols and sanctums will be covered by organic material like "grass, leaves of the neem or vila trees or raw silk shroud to prevent the natural aura from being destroyed", the seer from Coimbatore said.
Usually, deities in temples which have been consecrated by mantras and rituals have an external energy field around the form which combined pull of the sun and moon during the can weaken during the eclipse.
-Indo-Asian News Service
Credits: Julie Demboski’s Astrology
Of the two Lunar eclipses and one Solar eclipse occurring in this set, the upcoming Solar one is the one to watch. Not literally, of course, as that will burn your eyes out (no wonder people were frightened of eclipses–there must have been plenty of village idiots who did just that–and who wouldn’t think it was God, or gods, or Baal, or Apollo, or Ra punishing those hubristic enough to stare into what in many cultures amounts to the face of God?) No, watch this Solar eclipse, promised in the Pacific time zone of North America at 7:33 PM the 21st of July, for the figurative burn it may bring.partial solar eclipse
The transiting Sun and Moon meet at 29 Cancer 26, an anaretic degree, and that signals the energies involved are both in a state of high stress. Why? Placement of any energy at an anaretic degree (the very earliest and latest of a sign) suggests that the body has traveled through the experience cycle of all preceding degrees of the sign–now the body is pressured to symbolically ‘finish up’ with the energy spectrum of the sign. This means that any facets of the sign not experienced during the course of the transit now come forward, needing to be expressed in order to complete the experience cycle. In this case, the energies are Cancerian: of nurture, care, involved with others, nourishing, intrusive, emotional, intuitive, maternal, enveloping, sensitive, changeable or monthly. For all of us, the place in the natal chart where 29 degrees of Cancer falls (if this does not fall on a natal placement) will designate by House where we may be facing a crisis energy that blends the Cancer experience spectrum with the matters of the House.
Solar eclipseFor those with a natal placement at this degree (or within 2 degrees of it, either side), the crisis energy is much stronger, and specific to the manifestation of the natal body or point. By ‘crisis,’ however, I mean ‘need to face’ as it applies to the matters brought forward. If one is willing to be responsible, literally willing to respond, one need not suffer crisis or upset of any kind–in fact the impetus offered by the Solar eclipse energy can bring great leaps forward, particularly at the personal level, in illuminating all facets of a matter or issue, and endowing one with the energy and ’sight’ to resolve it.
Other natal placements to which the eclipse is in hard aspect may share in the crisis energy (though to a lesser intensity or extent), with the aspect itself suggesting the way toward resolution. For instance, a square says that the eclipse will present an energy situation (related to both the 29 Cancer placement and the House in which this occurs) that is in conflict with the natal energy as it exists, and requires one to weigh, consider, and negotiate as one would with any square. Again, keep the aspect orb to 2 degrees or less, and as with the conjunction, a willingness to face the energy and deal with it can minimize or eliminate problems, and even turn them to your advantage.
Soft contacts to natal placements (sextiles, trines) offer to bolster the manifestation of the natal energy with the eclipse energy. We musn’t assume that this is uniformly positive, however, as ease in blending the two energies can bring forward a ‘path of least resistance’ manifestation that may effectively undermine our best interests. Control is the key with soft aspects, channeling them productively into assisting expression of the natal energy while remaining attentive to implications and ramifications of the interaction.
The eclipse itself makes a few aspects: a quincunx to Pluto, and a conjunction to the South Node in Leo (with complementary opposition to the North Node). Whenever we have an eclipse, it’s important to look at the pattern it forms with other transiting bodies, as this tells us something about the effects we can expect; the contacts the eclipse makes are essentially part and parcel of the ‘eclipse package’ we experience. A quincunx to Pluto suggests that the crisis energy of the eclipse will run deep, be intense, transformative, and perhaps a little dangerous or disturbing, unearthing secrets or things we’d rather leave buried. This aspect may make us feel that the eclipse itself is dangerous or disruptive, but this is the energy of the eclipse feeding through and adjusting (the quincunx) to the active energy of transiting Pluto, and to our senses there may be no distinction.orbital view solar eclipse
The Solar eclipse conjunct the South Node in Leo brings in elements of the past and our place in it. Identity issues are ‘lit up’ by the eclipse, and the South Node itself is at an anaretic degree (but this time in the opposite situation to the eclipse–here the South Node is back at the seminal moment of our past that helped form our identity, our creative sense of Self–00 Leo).
We can expect matters of the Self, our origins in the past, and secrets or change, to be the eclipse effect for all of us, with reference to the House where the eclipse occurs; those with a natal hook must figure in the natal effect, as well, using common sense and positioning oneself mentally to make the most of available energies. And remember, Dark of the Moon precedes the eclipse, meaning that we may all be feeling a little more ‘in the dark’ than we’d like beginning about evening PDT of the 18th, with illumination coming on the New Moon, as it always does.
lightningAn eclipse is really an opportunity to put lightning in a bottle; let’s do our best to use the energy wisely.
बुधवार सुबह जब इस सदी का सबसे लंबा और पूर्ण सूर्यग्रहण होगा तो भारत में कुछ लोग हवाई जहाज़ में सवार होकर इसका नज़ारा देख रहे होंगे और कुछ ज़मीन पर इसके नकारात्मक प्रभाव से बचने की कोशिश में होंगे.
इतना लंबा सूर्यग्रहण दोबारा 123 साल बाद होगा. पूर्ण ग्रहण भारतीय समय के मुताबिक सुबह छह बज कर 23 मिनट से देखा जा सकेगा और इसे देखने के लिए बेहतरीन जगह है पटना के पास का तरेगना गाँव जहाँ यह ग्रहण तीन मिनट 48 सेकेंड के लिए नज़र आएगा.
लेकिन बरसात का मौसम है और घटा का ख़तरा, लिहाज़ा खगोलीय शिक्षा के क्षेत्र में काम करने वाले संगठन स्पेस ने इस मौके पर एक हवाई जहाज़ किराए पर लिया है.
संगठन से संबंध रखने वाले अमित वर्मा कहते हैं कि ज़्यादातर सीटें बुक हो चुकी हैं.
इस जहाज़ पर ऐसे बहुत कम लोग हैं जिन्हें पहले से खगोलीय ज्ञान का शौक है. बहुत से फोटोग्राफ़र हैं और ऐसे लोग भी जिन्हें नई चीज़ें आज़माने का शौक है.
अमित वर्मा
वो कहते हैं, "इस जहाज़ पर ऐसे बहुत कम लोग हैं जिन्हें पहले से खगोलीय ज्ञान का शौक है. बहुत से फोटोग्राफ़र हैं और ऐसे लोग भी जिन्हें नई चीज़ें आज़माने का शौक है."
इस जहाज़ पर अगर आप खिड़की के पास बैठना चाहें तो टिकट 81 हज़ार रूपए का है लेकिन बाक़ी सीटें 29 हज़ार से शुरु होती हैं.
ये जहाज़ दिल्ली से उड़ान भरने के बाद गया के ऊपर सैलानियों को सूर्य ग्रहण का नज़ारा दिखाएगा.
अमित कहते हैं, "41 हज़ार फुट की ऊंचाई का मतलब ये है कि आप बादलों से ऊपर उड़ान भर रहे होंगे और जब सूरज अंधेरे में डूबेगा तो बदली छाने की कोई बाधा आड़े नहीं आएगी."
ज़मीन पर तैयारी
ये तो हुई आसमान की बात. ज़मीन पर क्या हो रहा है? सूर्यग्रहण के दौरान बहुत से मंदिरों के दरवाज़े श्रद्धालुओं के लिए बंद कर दिए जाएंगे.
दिल्ली के प्राचीन हनुमान मंदिर के पुजारी पंडित श्रीरामनंदन झा कहते हैं, "ग्रहण के वक्त देवी देवताओं की शक्ति कम हो जाती है. ग्रहण के बाद उन्हें दोबारा स्नान करा कर भोग कराया जाएगा जिसके बाद ही मंदिरों के पट फिर खोले जाएंगे."
सूर्यग्रहण
दिल्ली के अधिकतर मंदिर ग्रहण के दौरान बंद रहेंगे
ज्योतिषियों का भी ख़याल है कि सूर्यग्रहण अच्छी ख़बर नहीं है. दिल्ली में ज्योतिषियों के संगठन के अध्यक्ष अरुण बंसल के मुताबिक जहां कहीं भी ग्रहण नज़र आएगा वहां नुकसान होगा.
वो कहते हैं, "इस बार भारत में ग्रहण ज़्यादा नज़र आ रहा है. इसलिए यहां प्राकृतिक विपदाओं और दुर्घटनाओं की आशंका रहेगी और इसमें किसी बड़े नेता का निधन भी हो सकता है. इसके अलावा सूर्य ग्रहण के पंद्रह दिनों बाद भूकंप आने का ख़तरा भी होगा."
ज्योतिषियों की भविष्यवाणी कहां तक सच साबित होगी ये तो कोई नहीं जानता लेकिन अगर आपने सूर्यग्रहण देखते समय पर्याप्त एहतियात नहीं बरती तो आँखों को काफी नुकसान पहुँच सकता है.
अंतरिक्ष अनुसंधान के अमरीकी संगठन नासा के अनुसार ग्रहण देखने का सबसे सस्ता और सुरक्षित तरीका ये है कि इसे सीधे देखने की बज़ाए इसका प्रतिबिंब देखा जाए.
सीधे देखने के लिए स्पेशल फिल्टर का इस्तेमाल करना ज़रूरी है ताकि सूरज की हानिकारक किरणों के प्रभाव से बचा जा सके.
पूर्ण सूर्य ग्रहण २००९ और भारत
भारत, पाकिस्तान, चीन, जापान समेत अनेक देशों में 22 जुलाई का सूर्य ग्रहण दिखाई देगा। विज्ञानिकों का कहना है कि ये इस शताब्दी के लंबे सूर्य ग्रहण में से एक होगा।
भारत में पूर्ण सूर्यग्रहण के मौक़े पर पर्यटकों को लुभाने की कोशिश जोर शोर से की जा रही है.
हालांकि भारत में पूर्ण सूर्यग्रहण केवल कुछ मिनट के लिए ही दिखाई देगा लेकिन पर्यटन कंपनियों ने इस मौक़े को भुनाने के लिए विशेष अभियान शुरू किया है.
गुजरात सरकार ने 22 जुलाई को पड़ने वाले पूर्ण सूर्य ग्रहण को पर्यटन के एक बड़े उत्सव के तौर पर मनाने का फ़ैसला किया है.
इसी तरह बिहार के पटना के पास तरेगना गाँव में सूर्यग्रहण पर पर्यटकों का जमावड़ा होगा.
टूर आपरेटर्स ने सूर्यग्रहण को दिखाने के लिए विशेष उड़ानों की व्यवस्था की है जो इस दौरान एक शहर से दूसरे शहर उड़ान भरेंगी.
इसमें खिड़की वाली सीटों के लिए विशेष क़ीमत वसूली जा रही है.
दरअसल नासा के अनुसार भारत में ये सूर्य ग्रहण सुबह 5 बजकर 28 मिनट से शुरू होकर 7 बजकर 40 मिनट तक देखा जा सकेगा.
लेकिन पूर्ण सूर्यग्रहण सुबह 6.26 से 6.30 तक चलेगा जिसमें सूर्य पूरी तरह छुप जाएगा.
भारत में पूर्ण सूर्यग्रहण भोपाल, सूरत, दार्जलिंग, वाराणसी और पटना के आसपास देखा जा सकेगा.
लेकिन दिल्ली, मुंबई, हैदराबाद, बंगलौर, अहमदाबाद, कोलकाता और चेन्नई में आंशिक सूर्यग्रहण ही देखा जा सकेगा.
गुजरात के पर्यटन सचिव किशोर राव ने पत्रकारों से बातचीत में कहा कि गुजरात सरकार 22 जुलाई को सूरत में एक विशेष कार्यक्रम आयोजित कर रही है.
उन्होंने उम्मीद जताई कि सूर्यग्रहण को देखने के लिए लगभग पाँच हज़ार पर्यटक सूरत में जुटेंगे.
सूर्यग्रहण भारत के पश्चिमी क्षेत्र से शुरू होगा और फिर पूर्वी भारत, बर्मा, जापान और चीन के छोटे द्वीपों की तरफ बढ़ेगा.