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Saturday, February 21, 2026
TopicAstronomy

Topic: astronomy

How did ancient galaxy Alaknanda get spiral arms?

Like the Pune scientists’ discovery, Alaknanda, if more galaxies show up in the JWST data, scientists may have to rethink how the early universe evolved.

What is 3I/ATLAS—the interstellar object that has baffled scientists

3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object to be discovered. Before it, 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov were detected in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

Back to the future: Govt launches national contest to recreate India’s traditional astronomy tools

Indian Knowledge Systems division calls students & firms to recreate astronomical instruments mentioned in classical Sanskrit texts. Selected instruments could be showcased to startups.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar’s stellar limit was called absurd. It got him 1983 Physics Nobel

No direct observations of any star exceed the Chandrasekhar limit. The theoretical physicist's calculations have helped so far to understand supernovas, neutron stars, and black holes.

Jayant Narlikar on a universe with no beginning, why sky is blue & the classic astronomy-astrology mix-up

In a 2015 'Walk the Talk' with Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta, the legendary astrophysicist who died Tuesday explained his thoughts on Big Bang & how curiosity keeps a scientist young.

Amity school students witness rare planetary parade in Delhi—Saturn’s rings to Jupiter’s moons

Twenty students caught the celestial phenomenon despite fog and an AQI of 365.

Delhi is missing out on planetary parade due to pollution. Rest of India enjoys watch parties

When the planetary parade was at its best view in Kolkata, Bengaluru and Dehradun, the national capital recorded an AQI of 289. Light rain also impacted visibility in some parts of the city.

From heralding births of kings to spacecraft navigation, planetary parade’s over 2,000 yrs old history

By mid-February, Venus, Mars, Jupiter & Saturn, already visible to the naked eye, will be joined by Mercury, Neptune & Uranus in a rare 'planetary parade', officially called a syzygy.

Pune astronomers identify galaxy in Milky Way’s neighbourhood as ‘explosive factory’ of gamma rays

Kathryn’s Wheel was formed due to collision of 2 galaxies, but study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters notes that star formation alone doesn't explain gamma ray emission.

India’s X-ray satellite system Daksha can settle the dark matter question

Daksha would be an invaluable tool to study flares from the Sun, X-rays from certain pulsating neutron stars, gamma-ray lightnings in the Earth's atmosphere, and so on.

On Camera

Why legal provisions are necessary to curb the power of trade unions: MH Mody

The collusion between the new class of bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade union bosses perpetuates itself partly because of the short-run benefits and partly because they see no way out of the system, wrote author MH Mody in 1980.

In the West, there’s anxiety. In India, optimism—Rishi Sunak says India poised to be leader in AI

On Wednesday, the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was speaking in New Delhi at a Carnegie & Observer Research Foundation event on AI.

Embraer moves full throttle in pursuit of IAF contract, ties up with Hindalco after Adani

IAF is firming up plans to revamp airlift capabilities with medium transport aircraft that will be assembled in India & serve as its main workhorse. Embraer is leading contender as of now.

No country is ever fully sovereign. Cold War era taught India its real meaning

India’s fraught neighbourhood places multiple constraints on its strategic choices. It leaves no time to take a deep breath, lean back and reset.