Current Affairs 26th June 2017

Current Affairs 26th June 2017  - Important Points

• International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2017 observed on - 26th June 2017
• Centuries-old mystery of unusual glow in the sky after dark solved by - Scientists

Current Affairs 26th June 2017 - Details

International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2017 observed on - 26th June 2017

The 2017 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was observed on 26th June 2017 with the theme Listen First -  First step to help children  and youth in order to make them  grow healthy and safe is Listening to them.
This year's theme is an initiative to enhance support to prevent drug use that is based on science  and is  hence expected to be an effective investment in the  children bell-being  along with  their families and communities.

Key Points

• On 7th December 1987, the United Nations general Assembly (UNGA) via resolution 42/112 decided to observe 26th June as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
  as an acknowledgement to accept the problem and taking strong determination to strengthen action and cooperation to achieve the goal of an international drug abuse free society.
• The United Nations held a Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs in April 2016.
• This session on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2017 has  marked an important milestone in order to achieve the goals set in the policy document of 2009
• Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards Balanced  and 
  an Integrated Strategy  as well as   to face the Drug Problem globally.

Centuries-old mystery of unusual glow in the sky after dark solved by - Scientists

Centuries-old unexplained mystery  of "bright nights", the unusual glow that appears in the sky after dark  which remained unexplained for quite a long time  have finally been solved by the scientist. 
Speaking on the development, Researchers informed that when waves in the upper atmosphere converge over certain locations on the Earth, they amplify making naturally occurring airglow, a faint light in the night sky that often seems as green due to oxygen atoms activity in the high atmosphere. Normally, airglow can not be easily spotted but sometimes on bright nights it produces an unexplained glow that can be seen with the naked eye.

Detailed Observations

• Due to pollution, Modern observations of bright nights from Earth are  almost nonexistent because of the pollution on planet.
• However, even before the advent of artificial lighting, bright nights were highly localized and rare.
  Researchers were able to see bright night events reflected in airglow data from the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII), which is an instrument once carried by NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite during 1991-2005.
• They researched for the mechanisms which are the  cause of airglow to enhance to visible levels at specific locations.
• Airglow comes from emissions of different colours of light due to chemical reactions in the upper reaches of the atmosphere.
• The green portion of airglow occurs when light from the sun splits the molecular oxygen into individual oxygen atoms and When the atoms recombine in the earth atmosphere, these give off the excess energy due to the release of  photons in the green part of the visible light spectrum, giving the sky a greenish tinge.