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Wednesday, April 8, 2026
TopicAstronomy

Topic: astronomy

Oxford scientists find a new planet that changes our understanding of space—it’s molten

The findings, which imply that molten planets may be quite common, suggest astronomers may need to be more cautious about designating exoplanets as potentially habitable.

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.

On Camera

Rahul Gandhi wants to jail Himanta Sarma but Congress has a Bihar-sized problem in Assam

The Congress has promised Rs 50,000 assistance to each woman but as we've seen in many recent elections, voters seem to be conscious of the proverb: 'A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.'

Stocks fall, oil prices climb as Trump issues fresh threat to Iran ahead of his deadline

Fears that an escalation of the conflict could heighten a fuel squeeze & endanger the economy unnerved traders, with NYT reporting Iran stopped negotiating a truce with the US.

UAE walks away from financing Rafale F5 due to restricted access to technology, reports French media

French newspaper La Tribune earlier last week indicated that UAE withdrew from deal to fund EUR 3.5 billion. India is looking to order 114 new Rafales, which could include the F5.

China insulated itself against energy shocks. India is ‘all talk, no walk’

China patiently invested capital, skill and technology in coal gasification. Unlike it, we won’t move from words to action. As crude prices decline, we lose interest.