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  • Current Affairs 5th April 2018

    Updated : 05-Apr-2018

    Current Affairs 5th April 2018 - Important Points

    • Most distant star ever seen captured by - Hubble Telescope from NASA
    • First large-scale age-map of Milky Way created by -European Southern Observatory
    • Union Cabinet approves Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018 on - 4th April 2018
    • International Mines Awareness Day celebrated on - 4th April 2018
    • Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) unveils ‘Virtual ID’ in - Beta Form
    • Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu clinched first gold for India on - 5th April 2018
    • NASA successfully tests Mars landing parachute in - March 2018

    Current Affairs 5th April 2018 - Details

    Most distant star ever seen captured by - Hubble Telescope from NASA

    NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the most distant star ever noticed termed as Icarus. This mega blue star is situated over halfway across the universe. It need 9 billion years for the Icarus light to reach the Earth.  The team consisting Jose Diego of the Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria in Spain, and Steven Rodney of the University of South Carolina in the United States termed the star as Icarus following the Greek mythical character who glided too near to the Sun on his wings made-up of feathers and wax which were melted later. Icarus's authorized name is MACS J1149+2223 Lensed Star 1.
    How the astronomers were able to spot this distant star?

    • Space scientist were able to view this faraway star and set a new distance record through a process known as Gravitational Lensing that extremely strengthens the star's shabby luminosity.
    • In Gravitational lensing the gravitational powers from gigantic galaxies act as a natural lens in space, that helps in twisting and intensifying light and enables tremendously-faint and gar away objects bright enough to understand.
    • This huge galaxies cluster located between the Earth and the galaxy that comprises the Icarus and is situated about five billion light years far away from Earth.
    • Space scientist were able to observe and study Icarus by joining the strong point of this gravitational lens with Hubble delicate firmness and sensitivity.

    First large-scale age-map of Milky Way created by -European Southern Observatory

    An international team headed by space scientist from the European Southern Observatory has formed the 1st large-scale map of the Milky Way galaxy after analysing the colour, brilliance and spectral data on the chemistry of specific stars. The map indicates that a star formation period long-lasting about 4 billion years shaped the complex structure at the core of our milky way galaxy.
    Key Highlights
    The Milky Way galaxy is a spiral-galaxy with a knob at the centre, which comprises about a quarter of the total build of stars.
    Earlier investigations have revealed that the bulge hosts 2 components: 
    1. A population of metal-deprived stars that have a sphere-shaped distribution
    2. A population of metal-enrich stars that procedure an elongated bar with a "waist", like a bi-lobed peanut 

    However, study of the ages of the stars to date have formed conflicting results.
    Expanding on the study, one of the investigators Marina Rejkuba definite that they studied the colour and illumination of stars to find those that had just reached the point of exhausting their hydrogen fuel in the middle as a sensitive age-indicator. Rejkuba informed that their studies were not consistent with a virtuously old Milky Way bulge, but need star formation long-lasting around four billion years and starting around eleven billion years ago. The youngest stars that they study are minimum seven billion years old, which is older than few earlier studies had suggested.

    Union Cabinet approves Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018 on - 4th April 2018

    The Union Cabinet passed the Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018, on April 4 th , 2018 intended to protection and advancement of human rights in India. The Bill looks forward to amend the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
    Provisions of the Bill

    • It proposes to comprise the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights' as deemed-Member of the National Human Rights Commission.
    • It proposes to augment a female-member in the conformation of the Human Rights Commission.
    • It loks forward to increase the scope of entitlement and scope of selection of Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission and of the State Human Rights Commission as well.
    • It demands to include a proper process to examine the cases of human rights violation in the UTs.
    • It recommends to amend the tenure of office of Chairperson and Members of National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commission as equal as that of the tenures of Chairperson and Members of other Commissions.
    • Once the bill becomes an Act, it will be in flawless sync with the well-defined global morals and standards towards ensuring the life relating rights, freedom, equivalence and self-respect of the person.
    • It looks forward to make National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commission much more obedient with the Paris Principle relating to its independence, individuality and multiple functions.

    International Mines Awareness Day celebrated on - 4th April 2018

    International Day for Mines Awareness was celebrated on 4th April 2018, to spread the awareness
    about the hazards caused by landmines to the protection, health and lives of citizen populations.

    The theme for 2018 was “Advancing Protection, Peace and Development”. On 8 th , December 2005, the UN had announced that 4 th , April of each year shall be celebrated as the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

    Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) unveils ‘Virtual ID’ in - Beta Form

    The Unique Identification Authority of India has revealed the beta version of ‘Virtual ID’, which will shortly be recognized by service providers in place of Aadhaar card number. 

    Virtual ID in lieu of Aadhaar Number:

    • In January 2018, Unique Identification Authority of India had declared that it will come up with a “Virtual ID’ for Aadhaar Card bearers to tackle privacy issues concerned to quoting Aadhaar.
    • Virtual ID, which an Aadhaar card bearer can produce from Unique Identification Authority of India’s website, is a random 16 digits number planned to a person’s Aadhaar number and biometrics information. 
    • Virtual ID of the subscriber would be given too any authorised agency including a mobile company, with restricted details for instance name, address and photograph, which are
      sufficient for any authentication.
    • Thus Virtual ID will do away with the requirement of unveiling 12 digits Aadhaar card number for verification purposes.
    • Unique Identification Authority of India had informed that all sanctioned agency or service provider firms will have to necessary accept Virtual ID for undertaking authentication from June 1 st , 2018.

    Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu clinched first gold for India on - 5th April 2018

    World champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu smashed the records by winning India's first Gold Medal on the opening day of the 21st Commonwealth  Games in Gold Coast, Australia on April 5th, 2018. Mirabai won the coveted medal in the 48 kg category with a total lift of 196 kg (86 kg + 110 kg) with her marvelous performance.

    She pulled off clean lifts in all her three attempts in 80kg, 84kg and 86kg categories and then went on to lift more than double of her body weight in 103kg, 107kg and 110kg categories, breaking the overall Commonwealth Games record till date.

    Important Highlights

    • In the women's category Silver went to Mauritian Marie Ranaivosova (76kg + 94kg), while Sri Lanka's Dinusha Gomes (70kg + 85kg) claimed the bronze.
    • Weightlifter P Gururaja bagged silver for India at the 21st Commonwealth Games in the men's 56 kg category with a snatch and lift of 249kg (111+138).
    • He finished second in a field where Malaysia’s Muhammad Izhar Ahmed broke the Games record with the snatch and lift of 261 kg (117+144) and fetched the Gold.
    • The bronze in men's category went to Sri Lanka's Lakmal Chaturanga (114kg + 134kg).

    Commonwealth Games 2018

    The 21st Commonwealth games started on 4th April 2018 at Gold coast in Australia. This year, the Games will be marking the 5th time that Australia has hosted the games. India was represented at the opening ceremony by a contingent ofmore than 200 athlete,led by flag-bearer P V Sindhu.

    NASA successfully tests Mars landing parachute in - March 2018

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully conducted the test of the Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE) of the Mars landing parachute for possible future missions in March 2018.

    The parachute was launched in Virginia on the Black Brant IX sounding rocket from Wallops Flight Facility of NASA. The test was conducted with an objective to know all the conditions that a spacecraft would be experiencing during the entry, descent and landing (EDL) on the Red Planet.

    After the first one took place in October 2017, it was the second flight test of ASPIRE.

    Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE)

    • The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA in Pasadena, California manages the Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment.
    • It is also administered by NASA's Langley Research Centre in Hampton , Virginia and Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California also administer it.

    Did you know?

    NASA's Sounding Rocket Program is based at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.