COSMOS WORLD
“In the realm of the night sky, astronomy unveils a universe of fascination. From ancient stargazers to modern explorers, it's a journey that ignites curiosity and inspires awe. Join us as we delve into the cosmic wonders that have shaped our understanding of the cosmos”
"Cosmic Curiosity: Neutron Star Quest"
First, they thought maybe pulsars rotate the white
dwarfs, until 1968 Richard V.E. Lovelace
discovered period P≈33 ms of the crab pulsar. After this discovery, scientists
concluded that pulsars were rotating neutron stars.
Recently in a 2020 study by the University of Southampton Ph.D.
student Fabian Gittins suggested that surface irregularities
("mountains") may only be fractions of a millimeter tall (about
0.000003% of the neutron star's diameter), hundreds of times smaller than
previously predicted, a result bearing implications for the non-detection of
gravitational waves from spinning neutron stars.
2)
Formation of Neutron stars
Any main – Sequence Star with an initial mass of above 8
times the mass of our sun has the potential to produce neutron stars. When all
the nuclear fuel in the core is exhausted, a further deposit of mass from the
shell burning causes the core to exceed the Chandrashekhar Limit.
Electron-degeneracy pressure is overcome and the core collapses further,
sending the temperature soaring over 5*109 K. As the temperature
climbs even higher the electron and protons combine to form neutrons, releasing
a flood of neutrinos. When the density reaches nuclear density 4*1017
kg/m3. The outer envelope of the star is halted and flung outward by
the flux or neutrinos, becoming a Supernova. The remnant left is a neutron
star.
FUN FACT:- If the remnant has a mass greater than about 3
times, it collapses further to become a black hole.
3)
Structure and properties of neutron stars
Current models indicate that matter at the surface of a
neutron star is composed of ordinary atomic nuclei crushed into a solid lattice
with a sea of electrons flowing through the gaps between them. The nuclei at
the surface may be iron, due to iron’s high binding energy per nucleon. The
atmosphere of a neutron star is Hypothesized to be at most several micrometers
thick, and its dynamics are fully controlled by the neutron star’s magnetic
field. Proceeding inward, one encounters nuclei with an ever-increasing number
of neutrons; such nuclei would decay quickly on Earth, but are kept stable by
tremendous pressures.
§
Some
of the Properties are
·
Extreme Density: [Fun fact:- The mass of the Teaspoon
of a neutron star is equal to the mass of Mount Everest].
·
Size: Neutron stars are relatively small in
terms of physical size, they have diameters of about 10 to 20 KM.
·
Rotation: Neutron stars rotate extremely
rapidly. Some neutron stars rotate hundreds of times per second. Known as
pulses.
·
Surface Features: The surface of a neutron star
is thought to consist of a solid crust made up of heavy elements like iron.
·
Gravitational Waves: Neutron stars can be
involved in mergers with other neutron stars or black holes, emitting
gravitational waves in the process. These events have been detected by
gravitational wave observatories.
·
Matter Beyond Nuclear Physics: Neutron star
interiors are believed to contain exotic forms of matter, such as hyperons and
quarks, which can exist under extreme conditions of density and pressure.
4)
Some more examples of Neutron stars
·
Black Widow Pulsar – a very massive millisecond pulsar
·
LGM-1 (now known as PSR B1919+21) – the first
recognized radio-pulsar. It was discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell in 1967.
·
PSR B1257+12 – the first neutron star discovered
with planets (a millisecond pulsar).
·
PSR B1509−58 – the source of the "Hand of
God" photo shot by the Chandra X-ray Observatory
·
RX J1856.5−3754 – the closest neutron star
·
The Magnificent Seven – a group of nearby, X-ray-dim
isolated neutron stars
·
PSR J0348+0432 – the most massive neutron star
with a well-constrained mass, 2.01±0.04 M☉
·
SWIFT J1756.9-2508 – a millisecond pulsar with a
stellar-type companion with planetary range mass (below brown dwarf)
·
Swift J1818.0-1607 – the youngest-known magenta
Chandrayaan-3
India's third lunar exploration mission
5) Everything About Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 is
the third most recent lunar Indian Space Research exploration mission under the
Chandrayaan program of ISRO. It consists of a lander Vikram and a rover named
Pragyan similar to Chandrayaan-2. The launch of Chandrayaan-3 took place on 14 July
2023, at 2:35 PM. The Lander and rover are expected to land near the lunar
south pole region on 23 August 2023.
§
Objective
ISRO has set 3 main Objectives for the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
- Getting a lander to land safely and softly on
the surface of the Moon.
- Observing and demonstrating the rover’s
loitering capabilities on the Moon.
3.
In-site observation & conducting
experiments on the materials available on the lunar surface to better
understand the composition of the Moon
§
Design
Chandrayaan – 3 comprises three main components:
1)
Relay
Satellite:- The propulsion module will carry the lander
and rover configuration till a 100 Km lunar orbit. It is a box-like structure
with one large solar panel mounted on one side and a large cylinder on top that
acts as a mounting structure for the lander.
2)
Lander:-
The lander is responsible
for the soft landing on the moon. It is also box-shaped, with 4 legs and 4
landing thrusters of 800 newtons each. It will carry the rover and various
scientific instruments to perform in-site analysis.
3)
Rover:-
Ø Six-wheeled design.
Ø Weight of 26 kg.
Ø Range of 500 meters.
Ø Dimensions: 917 millimeters x 750
millimeters x 397 millimeters.
The Chandrayaan-3 rover is expected to make several discoveries.
Ø The composition of the lunar surface.
Ø The presence of water ice in the lunar soil
Ø The history of lunar impacts.
Ø The evolution of the moon’s atmosphere.
§
Launch
Chandrayaan-3 launched on 14 July 2023, at 2:35 pm as scheduled, from Satish
Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch pad in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh,
India. The spacecraft entered lunar
orbit on 5 August 2023. It is
anticipated that the Chandrayaan-3 mission will achieve a soft landing on the
lunar South Pole region on 23 August.
§
Orbit
raising and station-keeping
The satellite was launched aboard the LVM3-M4 rocket in the afternoon of
14 July 2023, at 2:35 pm IST to an EPO perigee of 170 km (106 mi) and an apogee
of 36,500 km (22,680 mi). This will be followed by a series of orbit-raising
operations (using an on-board LAM and chemical thrusters) to place the
satellite in the Trans-lunar injection orbit
§
Mission
executives
·
ISRO
Chairperson: S. Somanath
·
Mission
Director: S. Mohanakumar
·
Associate
Mission Director: G. Narayanan (Indian scientist)|G. Narayanan
·
Project
Director - P Veeramuthuvel
·
vehicle
Director: Biju C Thomas
6) Recent updates on Chandrayaan-3
These are some of
the photos sent by Chandrayaan 3 on the 9th and 17th of
August (Through Relay Satellite).
Chandrayaan-3
successfully landed on the moon's surface, on 23 August 2023 at 18:04. These
are some of the images by the Chandrayaan-3. Soon rover will also start sending us
pictures of the moon, and it will successfully accomplish its missions.
Upcoming Events in The Cosmic World.
Which
You Can Experience from The Earth.
·
Astronomical
events in August 2023: Supermoon, meteors, Saturn at opposition, Super Blue
Moon
o August 1: Super Full Moon
o August 13: Perseid meteor shower peak 🌟
o August 16: New Moon
o August 27: Saturn at opposition 🌟
o August 30: Moon-Saturn conjunction
o August 31: Super Blue Full Moon 🌟
·
Astronomical
events in September 2023: equinox, conjunctions, Supermoon, Neptune at
opposition
o September 4: Moon-Jupiter conjunction
o September 15: New Moon
o September 19: Neptune at opposition
o September 23: September equinox 🌟
o September 27: Moon-Saturn conjunction
o September 29: Super Full Moon
·
Astronomical
events in October 2023: annular solar eclipse, meteors, conjunctions, partial
lunar eclipse, New Moon
o October 2: Moon-Jupiter conjunction
October 9: Draconid meteor shower peak
o October 14: New Moon
October 14: Annular solar eclipse 🌟
October 22: Orionid meteor shower peak
o October 24: Moon-Saturn conjunction
o October 28: Full Moon
o October 28: Partial lunar eclipse
·
Astronomical
events in November 2023: planetary oppositions, meteors, lunar occultation
o November 3: Jupiter at opposition 🌟
o November 9: Lunar occultation of Venus
o November 13: New Moon
o November 14: Uranus at opposition
November 18: Leonid meteor shower peak
o November 27: Full Moon
o
·
Astronomical
events in December 2023: meteors, solstice, conjunction
o December 12: New Moon
o December 14: Geminid meteor shower peak 🌟
o December 22: December solstice 🌟
o December 22: Moon-Jupiter conjunction
December 23: Ursid meteor shower peak
o December 27: Full Moon
Some more Recent
discoveries in Cosmos of this decade.
1) Gaia
mapping the Milky Way
Astronomy
has its roots in mapping the night sky, and the latest and greatest map has
been provided by ESA’s Gaia spacecraft.
2)
The
explosion of exoplanet exploration.
A
slow-burning scientific revolution has been underway throughout the past few
decades, transforming how we view the universe.
3)
Cassini
spies water jets over Enceladus.
The
Cassini spacecraft’s flybys of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which started in 2005,
transformed our view of this tiny world.
4)
Phosphine
on Venus
This
might be a controversial choice, but I had to include 2020’s announcement of
the discovery of phosphine molecules high in the atmosphere of Venus by
Professor Jane Greaves, based at Cardiff University, and a team of
international astronomers.
5)
Methane
on Mars
Mars
has been the target of more missions over the past few decades than any other
object, and together they have told us a roughly coherent story about the Red
Planet’s past.
6)
Rosetta
explores a comet
The
spacecraft’s adventures visiting Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko provided
excitement from the moment the spacecraft woke up from hibernation in 2014 and
approached the duck-shaped comet, right up until its eventual impact with the
surface in 2016 – a moment I witnessed from mission control.
7)
New
Horizons flies by Pluto
To
Dr. Alan Stern, the leader of the team that designed, built, and flew the New
Horizons mission, its reconnaissance of Pluto. completed the American
exploration of the main Solar System bodies.
8)
Hubble’s
last servicing mission
After
the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia, Servicing Mission 4 was
initially canceled.
9)
Fast
radio bursts.
When
Duncan Lorimer and David Narkevic went looking for pulsars in old data from the
archives of the Parkes radio telescope in Australia in 2007, they didn’t know
they were about to make one of the most exciting discoveries in decades.
10 Gravitational
Waves.
A
spectacular triumph of experimental physics that builds on more than four
decades of hard work, the detection of the first gravitational waves by the
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) experiment in 2015
provided a new test of Albert Einstein’s theories, opened up a new window on
the Universe and set the stage for what will be a major part of the story of
21st-century physics.
11 Dark
matter in the Bullet Cluster
I
had hoped that by now we’d have some idea of what the Universe is made of.
12 The
Hubble tension
The
so-called Hubble ‘tension’ reflects a stubborn disagreement between the speed
of the expansion of the Universe as measured locally and the one inferred from
observations of the early cosmos.
13 The First image of a black hole was captured.
The
Event Horizon Telescope image of the shadow of the black hole at the heart of
the galaxy M87 was an instant classic when it was unveiled in 2019
About the writer.
Gaurang Chaturvedi is a dedicated student in the
field of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science at CMRIT College. Combining a
passion for cutting-edge technology with an intrigue for the mysteries of the
cosmos, Gaurang’s recent article delves into the fascinating realm of
astronomy. By bridging the worlds of AI and astronomy, Gaurang aims to inspire
others to explore the universe through the lens of data-driven insights. You
can reach out to him at gaurangchaturvedi04@gmail.com.
And you can visit his website relatedlife.online.
Conclusion
In the endless
tapestry of the cosmos, each astronomical revelation adds a vibrant thread to
the fabric of our understanding. The universe's enigmatic beauty and complexity
fuel our curiosity and beckon us to explore further. As we gaze upwards, we're
reminded that our quest for knowledge knows no bounds. Astronomy's ongoing
story is a testament to our relentless pursuit of the unknown, weaving together
science, wonder, and the timeless allure of the stars
References
·
“COSMOS”
BY CARL SAGAN.
·
NASA
·
ISRO
This was going to be a college news article, but it didn't get selected for the article, so publishing
it here. enjoy reading it, and have some knowledge.
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