India's Aditya-L1 solar mission spacecraft commences collecting scientific data
Bengaluru (PTI): India's Aditya-L1 solar mission spacecraft has commenced collecting scientific data to help scientists analyse particles surrounding Earth, ISRO said on Monday.
The sensors on board India's first solar observatory have begun measuring ions and electrons at distances greater than 50,000 km from Earth, ISRO announced in a post on X.
The national space agency said that the sensors on STEPS or the Supra Thermal & Energetic Particle Spectrometer instrument began measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions and electrons at distances greater than 50,000 km from Earth.
The instrument is a part of the Aditya Solar Wind Particle EXperiment (ASPEX) payload of Aditya L1.
STEPS comprises six sensors, each observing in different directions and measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions ranging from 20 keV/nucleon to 5 MeV/nucleon, in addition to electrons exceeding 1 MeV. These measurements are conducted using low and high-energy particle spectrometers.
The data collected during Earth's orbits helps scientists to analyse the behaviour of particles surrounding the Earth, especially in the presence of its magnetic field.
STEPS was activated on September 10 at a distance greater than 50,000 km from Earth. This distance is equivalent to more than eight times the Earth's radius, placing it well beyond Earth's radiation belt region.
After completing the necessary instrument health checks, data collection continued until the spacecraft had moved farther than 50,000 km from Earth.
These STEPS measurements will persist during the cruise phase of the Aditya-L1 mission as it progresses toward the Sun-Earth L1 point. They will continue once the spacecraft is positioned in its intended orbit.
Data collected around L1 would provide insights into the origin, acceleration, and anisotropy of solar wind and space weather phenomena.
STEPS was developed by the Physical Research Laboratory with support from the Space Application Centre in Ahmedabad.
Aditya-L1 was launched by ISRO on September 2.
The spacecraft carries seven different payloads to study the Sun, four of which will observe the light from the Sun and the remaining three will measure in situ parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.
Aditya-L1 will be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian Point 1 (L1), which is 1.5 million km from the Earth in the direction of the Sun. It will revolve around the Sun with the same relative position and hence can see the Sun continuously.
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'Engineered narratives': West Bengal guv on alleged molestation charges against him
Kolkata, May 2: West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Thursday said he will not be cowed down by “engineered narratives” and the "truth shall triumph” after TMC leaders claimed that a woman working at Raj Bhavan levelled allegations of molestation against him.
In a statement, the Governor said, “Truth shall triumph. I refuse to be cowed down by engineered narratives. If anybody wants some election benefits by maligning me, God bless them. But they cannot stop my fight against corruption and violence in Bengal,”
To the Raj Bhavan staff "who expressed solidarity with him following some derogatory narratives that were circulated by two disgruntled employees as agents of political parties," a communication by Raj Bhawan said.
The Governor’s statement came after senior TMC leaders claimed this evening in a series of social media posts that the woman, who had levelled the allegations, has been taken to a police station to complain against Bose.
Though police sources said they received a verbal complaint, there was no official word on whether a formal complaint had been registered.
“BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose was accused of molesting a woman. How utterly appalling and Horrifying. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj Bhavan today. The complainant has been taken to the Hare Street police station for filing a complaint. The woman has accused the Governor of molesting her. Shocking and disgraceful,” TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose said in a post on X.
Fellow TMC MP Saket Gokhale also posted on his X account regarding the issue.
West Bengal Women and Child Development Minister Shashi Panja said it is “shameful” that the Governor has maligned his post and has used it to “torture a woman”.
“It is appalling and shocking to see such an incident. This is the same Governor who had reached out to Sandeshkhali to talk about women’s rights and Nari Shakti. This is shameful that the Governor sought undue advantages in the pretext of giving her a permanent job. We want Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be addressing rallies in Bengal tomorrow to react on this issue,” she said.
According to sources in the Governor's House, the "woman employee with the help of her alleged boyfriend who is also an employee of the Raj Bhavan was blocking complaints (from people) being sent to the Election Commission of India.
"When she was reprimanded for that, she went outside and alleged molestation. She is in the habit of throwing tantrums against her colleagues because of some disease," a Raj Bhavan official said.
The West Bengal Governor and the TMC government have shared an acrimonious relationship since he assumed office in November 2022 and had several run-ins on various issues.
The BJP said it has to be seen whether this a “conspiracy by the TMC” or has an “iota of truth in it”.
“We all know that the TMC is politically cornered on the issue of SSC scam and is looking for a breathing space. So this needs to be seen whether this is a conspiracy by the TMC or it has any iota of truth in it,” BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said.
BIG. Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose accused of molesting a woman. How utterly APPALLING and HORRIFYING. Ahead of @narendramodi visit to Kolkata who is supposed to stay overnight at Raj Bhavan, a woman has alleged that she was molested while she went to meet the Governor at Raj…
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) May 2, 2024
Shameful that a constitutional office holder should try to prejudice an impartial investigation by attacking the motive of the complainant. We have seen this happen in that infamous Saturday Hearing of the Supreme Court. Respect women! https://t.co/E6eJLQvFXO
— sanjoy ghose (@advsanjoy) May 2, 2024
