NASA's newest planet hunter starts science operations
Washington, July 29 : After a successful launch in April this year, NASA's newest planet hunter, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), has now started its search for planets around nearby stars.
Officially beginning science operations on July 25, TESS is expected to transmit its first series of science data back to Earth in August, and thereafter periodically every 13.5 days, once per orbit, as the spacecraft makes it closest approach to Earth, NASA said in a statement.
"I'm thrilled that our new planet hunter mission is ready to start scouring our solar system's neighborhood for new worlds," said NASA Astrophysics Division Director Paul Hertz.
"Now that we know there are more planets than stars in our universe, I look forward to the strange, fantastic worlds we're bound to discover," Hertz added.
TESS is NASA's latest satellite to search for planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. The mission will spend the next two years monitoring the nearest and brightest stars for periodic dips in their light.
These events, called transits, suggest that a planet may be passing in front of its star. TESS is expected to find thousands of planets using this method, some of which could potentially support life.
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Will Champai Soren become a game-changer for BJP in Jharkhand polls?
Ranchi: Champai Soren, a prominent figure in Jharkhand’s statehood movement, is contesting the 2024 assembly elections from Seraikela, a seat he has consistently held since 1991.
However, there is a surprising shift in his political journey this year. Having resigned from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) earlier this year, Soren is now representing the BJP, a move that could significantly impact the electoral dynamics in the state.
Soren’s switiching is seen as a strategic benefit for the saffron party, which has been working to expand its appeal among Jharkhand’s tribal communities, a demographic traditionally aligned with the JMM. His departure from the JMM, led by Shibu Soren and his son Hemant Soren, was fueled by dissatisfaction with the state government’s policies, which he claimed had failed to address tribal concerns.
Also known as "Jharkhand’s Tiger" for his instrumental role in the statehood movement of the 1990s, Champai Soren has respect and influence among tribal voters. His decision to switch the party could be a turning point in the BJP’s efforts to gain a stronger hold in a state where tribal votes often decide the outcome.
