SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
CURRENT EVENTS
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• The Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) is planning to set a new world record in space history by launching 103 satellites in one go on a single rocket in the first week of February , 2017 . These satellites will be launched on board of ISRO ’ s workhorse PSLV ( C37 ) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh . The mission will carry three satellites from India and rest from other countries .
• India formally became an associate member of CERN ( European Organization for Nuclear Research ) with the government completing the internal approval procedures for the agreement it signed in November 2016 .
• Astronomers have discovered two of the most powerful phenomena in the universe , a supermassive black hole and the collision of giant galaxy clusters about 2 billion light years from Earth . It was discovered combining data from India ’ s Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope ( GMRT ), NASA ’ s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes .
• Scientists from Ireland have claimed discovery of a new human organ named the
mesentery that exists in the digestive system . It will be human body ’ s 79th organ . Mesentery connects the intestine to the abdomen . The organ was previously thought to consist of fragmented and disparate structures .
• An atomic clock at National Physical Laboratory ( NPL ) in New Delhi added ‘ leap second ’ ( extra one second ) to the Indian Standard Time ( IST ) at 5:29.59 hours on 1 January 2017 to synchronise with the Earth ’ s rotational clock . The clock was programmed to add an extra second to the year 2017 in order to compensate for a slowdown in the Earth ’ s rotation .
Why extra second was added ?
The Earth and rotation around its own axis is not regular , as sometimes slows down and sometimes speeds up due to various factors , including moon ’ s gravitational forces and earthquakes . As a result , astronomical time ( UT1 ) gradually falls out of sync with atomic time ( UTC ). When the difference between UTC and UT1 approaches 0.9 seconds , a leap second is added to UTC through atomic clocks worldwide to match both times . Paris based International Earth Rotation and Reference System Service ( IERS ) tells when to add leap seconds on the basis of difference between UTC and UT1 .
SPORTS
• Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was named the world ’ s best player for the year 2016 at the inaugural Best FIFA Football Awards held in Zurich , Switzerland . To win this title he received 34.54 % of total votes . He defeated Barcelona ’ s Lionel Messi ( 26.42 %), Atletico Madrid ’ s Antoine Griezmann ( 7.53 %) to win the coveted prize
• Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal clinched the 2017 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold women ’ s single
title in the summit clash in Sibu , Malaysia on January 22 , 2017 .
• Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik are among those in the to be conferred the Padma awards . Others include gymnast Dipa Karmakar , disc thrower Vikas Gowda , Indian hockey captain PR Sreejesh , and Paralympic gold medallist Thangavellu Mariyappan .
WINSPIRE : Empowering youth | February , 2017