Here’s a look what made news in the world of science and technology this week.
Japan moon lander survives second ‘lunar’ night
Japan’s unmanned Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) probe woke up on the lunar surface after surviving a second two-week ‘lunar night’. The spacecraft also transmitted new images back to Earth, the country’s space agency JAXA said on 28 March. The probe, which touched down on the lunar surface in January, aimed to examine a part of the Moon’s mantle. According to an AFP report, citing JAXA, the spacecraft was “not designed for the harsh lunar nights”, when the temperature plunges below minus 130 degrees Celsius (-200 degrees Fahrenheit). Scientists had cause for celebration when SLIM successfully woke up in late February against the odds, the report adds. This new development earlier in the week – which included a black-and-white photo of the rocky surface of a crater – marks another key milestone for the spacecraft.
SIMILAR STORIES
Climate change has made heat waves last longer since 1979: Study
Climate change has had a huge impact on the duration and effect of heatwaves across the world, a new study said earlier this week. Since 1979, global heat waves are moving 20% more slowly — meaning more people stay hot longer — and they are happening 67% more often, according to a study published in Science Advances on 29 March. The study found the highest temperatures in the heat waves are warmer than 40 years ago and the area under a heat dome is larger, a report in the Associated Press said. From 1979 to 1983, global heat waves would last eight days on average, but by 2016 to 2020 that was up to 12 days, the study explains. Earlier this month, scientists from Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change service had also revealed that February 2024 was the warmest February on record globally.
Scientists unveil new secrets about Milky Way’s black hole
Using images from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), astronomers have discovered powerful magnetic fields spiralling around the black hole that sits at the centre of the Milky Way. Scientists from the European Southern Observatory said on 27 March that a new image from the EHT for the first time showed in polarised light a ring of magnetic fields surrounding the Sagittarius A* black hole. The fields are similar to those observed around the M87* black hole at the heart of the M87 Galaxy, which the ESO says suggests that strong magnetic fields may be common to all black holes, an AFP report said.
(With inputs from agencies)
Also read: Mint Climate Tracker: The accelerating chaos of the climate crisis
