On Wednesday, August 30, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot caused a stir when he accused the judiciary of rampant corruption. The Rajasthan CM also said that he has heard that some lawyers write judgments and then the the same is pronounced.
Gehlot reportedly said, “Aaj to bataiye itna corruption ho raha hai judiciary ke andar. Itna bhayankar corruption hai, kai vakil log toh maine suna hai likh ke le jaate hain judgment aur judgment wohi aata hai (Tell me, so much corruption is happening in the judiciary today. Corruption is happening at such a large scale that I have heard that many lawyers write the judgment and take it along, and that is the judgment given).”
“Kya ho raha hai judiciary ke andar? Chahe lower ho, chahe upper ho, haalat bade gambhir hai (What is happening in the judiciary? Whether lower court or higher court, the situation is very serious),” he said.
Gehlot also pointed fingers at the central agencies and targeted the BJP. “Woh ishara kar dete hain ki hum 15 minute baad mein aayenge. Aap apna mobile wagehra theek kar lijiye (They signal that we will arrive in 15 minutes. You fix your mobile etc.),” he said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s remarks criticising the judiciary have drawn flak from the Rajasthan High Court Bar Association.
President of the Rajasthan High Court Bar Association, Mahendra Shandilya reacted to Gehlot’s statement calling it “unfortunate”. Shandilya said, “It is a very unfortunate statement by a very responsible person who is the Chief Minister. He should not make such sweeping statements. If he has any evidence, he is welcome to give the name of the honourable judge.”
The Rajasthan CM’s controversial statements attacking state institutions come ahead of the assembly elections due in the state later this year.
Congress MLA Mamman Khan from Ferozepur Jhirka in Haryana has been summoned by police over his alleged involvement in the anti-Hindu violence in Nuh by Islamist mobs on 31st July. On Thursday, August 31st, Mamman Khan will be questioned by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) at the Nagina Police Station, as per reports.
Reportedly, the Congress MLA will be questioned by the SIT headed by Nagina DSP Satish Kumar. This comes a day after a notice was issued to Mamman Khan under Section 160 of the CrPC where he was told to join the investigation and present himself at the Nagina police station.
As reported earlier, on August 28th, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij stated in the Assembly that evidence has been found against Congress MLA Mamman Khan pertaining to the anti-Hindu violence in Nuh. Vij stated that based on the probe conducted so far, evidence points towards Congress’ role.
“Until now, the number of people arrested is around 500, and around 130-140 FIRs have been filed. The investigation has revealed that this is all the doing of Congress,” Vij reportedly stated.
BIG ⚡️Haryana HM Anil Vij today stated in the Assembly that based on the probe conducted so far, evidence points towards Congress's role in the anti-Hindu Nuh violence on 31/7. pic.twitter.com/ptNmydtfiM
Four days after the Nuh violence, allegations surfaced against Khan that he had played a role in inciting the Muslim mob against Hindus on 31st July.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been alleging the role of Mamman Khan in the violence as a counter to Congress’s allegations that the BJP has been (allegedly) protecting Monu Manesar.
In the Budget session in February this year, Mamman Khan accused the Haryana government of allegedly arming Gau Rakshaks and flashed the images of Bajrang Dal activist Monu Manesar while attacking the government. Khan accused the BJP government asking whether they have given arms to goons to kill Muslims. Notably, Muslim-majority Mewat is the hub of cattle smuggling, an issue Khan chooses to neglect.
Notably, Mamman Khan won the 2019 elections from the Ferozepur Jhirka seat with 57.62% votes defeating BJP candidate Nadeem Ahmed. Khan had lost his first election in 2014 as an independent against Nadeem Ahmed who fought on an INLD ticket.
On Wednesday, August 30th, 2023, the administrators of a private school, who had been charged with compelling female students to wear Islamic headscarves, were granted bail by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. While granting bail to the accused, the High Court said that Hindu, and Jain girls shall not be forced to wear hijab anywhere in the school premises.
The three accused include school staffers Afsha Sheikh, Anas Atahar, and Rustam Ali. The controversy is related to the Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh.
The complaint was lodged by the parents of three students after a photograph displaying non-Muslim students of the school wearing hijab caused protests from the Hindu community. The school tried to duck the issue by issuing a clarification that it was a headscarf and not a hijab. The school also claimed that it was part of the uniform. However, the issue gained significant attention, with the Home Minister calling for an investigation and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan criticizing the school.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal, presiding as the sole judge on the bench, granted bail to Asfa Sheikh, Anas Athar, and Rustom Ali, subject to a personal bond of ₹50,000.
According to reports, the court said in its order, “Applicants shall not repeat commission of the offense in which they are being released on bail. They shall not be prevented from wearing the essentials of their own religion as such wearing a sacred thread (kalawa) and putting tilak on the forehead. They shall not compel the students of other religion to read/study any material or language which has not been prescribed or approved by the Madhya Pradesh Education Board.”
The court added, “Girl students of other religions i.e. Hindu and Jain etc. shall not be compelled to wear a head scarf (Hijab) anywhere in the school premises or in the classrooms. It is directed that they shall also abide by all the conditions enumerated.”
Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School in Damoh district, Madhya Pradesh, became embroiled in a significant controversy when allegations emerged that the school was compelling students to wear hijabs. The claims surfaced after an advertisement for the school, published on May 31, showcased accomplished students, including Hindu and Jain girls, wearing hijabs.
Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School is a private English-medium institution situated in ward number 4 of the Futera neighborhood in Damoh. The posters featuring the names of exceptional students, both boys and girls, gained traction on social media. Among the eighteen students, four girls from the Jain and Hindu communities were depicted wearing hijabs.
In their complaint, the students also alleged that some of the teachers in the school forced them to recite the Quran. The students leveled the allegations of the imposition of restrictions on Hindu religious practices, compulsory Urdu subjects, and the recitation of poet Mohammad Iqbal’s ‘Lab pe aati hai dua’.
On June 7, the police registered a case against 11 members of the school management committee, charging them under IPC sections 295 (pertaining to damaging or defiling objects considered sacred by certain groups), 506 (related to criminal intimidation), 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), as well as relevant provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021.
Earlier, the affiliation of Ganga Jamuna Higher Secondary School of Damoh was suspended for non-compliance with Madhya Pradesh Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools Recognition Rules 2017 and amended rules 2020.
On Wednesday, August 30, a case of a gruesome murder came to light from India’s financial capital. Mumbai-based Shafiq Ahmed Shaikh reportedly killed his brother-in-law with a crowbar and then chopped his body into several pieces. Shafiq murdered the 17-year-old Ishwar for allegedly passing comments against his wife and her sister. As per the police, Ishwar was raised by Shafiq’s father-in-law.
Ishwar was not related to Shafiq’s wife and father-in-law by blood even though Shafiq’s wife considered him her brother. As per reports, Ishwar’s dead body was chopped into five pieces and later hidden in the kitchen. The murder took place in Mumbai’s Chembur area.
The victim’s body was recovered from Shafiq’s kitchen in his two-room flat in the MHADA locality locality in the RCF area of Chembur.
As per the police, Shafiq asked Ishwar to stop commenting on his wife for a long time. However, when Ishwar didn’t listen to him, an infuriated Shafiq proceeded to murder him and later butchered his dead body.
Shafiq’s father-in-law inquired about Ishwar’s whereabouts after the latter went missing for two days. He approached the cops suspecting that something had gone wrong. Later, Shafiq confessed to the murder upon being interrogated.
The accused, an auto-rickshaw driver, has been arrested under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destroying evidence) under the Indian Penal Code. Further investigation into the case is currently underway.
A 20-year-old woman on her way to meet her brother in Punjab on Raksha Bandhan died after her head was crushed by an oncoming vehicle in Delhi’s Alipur area as she tried to vomit out of a bus window, police said.
According to the police, the victim was identified as Babli, a resident of Pratapgarh district in Uttar Pradesh.
Police on Wednesday received the information about the incident from the Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital (SRHC) hospital in Narela where the victim had been taken in an injured state.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer north) Ravi Kumar Singh said that by the time police reached the hospital, the 20-year-old was pronounced dead.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Babli was travelling from Pratapgarh to meet her brother in Ludhiana, Punjab. She took a Haryana Roadways bus from Kashmere Gate ISBT and was accompanied by her sister Poonam, brother-in-law Santosh, and their three children.
According to the police, the deceased felt sick near the Alipur area and stuck her head out of the bus window to vomit when an oncoming vehicle crushed her head from the driver’s side.
“A legal action is being taken in the matter. The CCTV footage is also being checked to identify the offending vehicle and its driver,” said the police.
Further details into the matter are awaited.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
The Maharashtra government recently filed an affidavit in the Bombay High Court stating that the tender process for the Dharavi redevelopment project is “absolutely transparent” and “no undue favour” was given to the highest bidder, Adani Group.
Through the affidavit, the state government refuted allegations that the cancellation of the old tender was politically motivated. It termed these allegations as “false and baseless”. The affidavit was filed in response to a plea filed by Seclink Technologies, a Dubai-based company that had bid for the project and lost to Adani Properties.
Seclink had filed the petition challenging the cancellation of a 2018 tender and the award of the new tender with new conditions to the Adani group company in 2022.
Demanding that the baseless allegations be penalised, the affidavit said, “The petitioner has made unfounded and reckless allegations such as actions of respondents being politically motivated without any basis or material as indeed none exists. For making such reckless allegations alone, the writ petition deserves to be dismissed with costs.”
In the affidavit, the state highlighted that the new tender to redevelop the nearly 259-hectare slum drew more bidders than the old one.
It added, “It is denied that the new tender was floated to favour respondent Adani Group. The new tender process was conducted in an absolutely transparent manner and in fact, the new tender attracted more bidders than those who had participated in the old tender.”
Now, a division bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya may take it for hearing on Thursday (31 August).
The petition was filed through Ganesh and Co. and it alleged that the clauses of the new tender were added only to exclude Seclink as a bidder. It also alleged that the new tender wanted to ensure that Adani won the bid.
However, the government, through its affidavit, clearly stated that there was no question of excluding anyone’s participation. They added that the bids were required to be submitted afresh and the petitioner (STC) also could have submitted a bid by complying with the terms and conditions of the new tender.
Earlier in 2022, on the 13th of July, the Maharashtra government appointed Adani Properties Pvt Ltd as the lead partner in the project, and a work order was issued on 17 July.
Important details of the new tender
The affidavit stated that the new tender imposed a liability on the bidder to pay a minimum payment of Rs 2,800 crore to the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) as land owned by the railways was included in the redevelopment project.
It highlighted that this amount was over and above the price bid. Furthermore, there was an additional cost for constructing railway quarters on approximately 84,000 square meters of land.
The State added that the new tender also required the bidder to accommodate non-eligible (around 7 lakhs) slum tenements in affordable housing or under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
In the old tender, Seclink made a Rs 7,200 crore price bid which was cancelled by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in October 2020. However, With a commitment of Rs 7,869 crore (Rs 5,069 crore bid + Rs 2800 crore for RLDA) in the 2022 tender process, the Adani group was the highest bidder for the 259-hectare Dharavi Redevelopment Project. Therefore, the about bid by Adani is much more than the amount quoted by Seclink.
The State government said, “In view of these payments, Adani was declared as the highest bidder after it quoted ₹5,069 crores, with a final bid of ₹7,869 crores (which will infused by Adani into the redevelopment), exceeding the ₹7,200 crore price bid of Seclink (who bid under the old tender).”
Further, the government categorically stated that Seclink’s allegation of “loss to the exchequer is false and misconceived”.
The affidavit argued that the bid amount, whether from the previous 2018 tender or the recent 2022 tender, was not required to be paid to the State as the consideration or revenue. Instead, it was solely required as an undertaking by the selected bidder to carry out the redevelopment project. The affidavit added that in view of this, the loss to the exchequer was not even a consideration.
The government submitted before the court that the Dharavi redevelopment project was an “extremely vital public purpose project”. It added that the project would change the lives of thousands of people living in the slums.
The affidavit asserted, “Any attempt made by persons to derail this redevelopment project should be thwarted as any stay on such projects would seriously impede the execution of the redevelopment project (which are of vital public importance).”
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has directed schools not to punish students who choose to wear rakhi, tilak, or mehendi on Raksha Bandhan.
In a note addressed to the Principal Secretaries of School Education Departments in all states and union territories, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights highlighted the chronic issue of corporal punishment meted out on students who wear rakhi, tilak, or mehendi during festive seasons. According to the commission, it has come to their attention, through numerous news reports, that children are experiencing harassment and discrimination from school teachers and staff while celebrating festivals.
“It has been noticed that schools do not allow children to wear rakhi or tilak or mehendi in schools during the festival of Raksha Bandhan and subject them to harassment, both physical and mental. It may be noted that corporal punishment is prohibited in schools under Section 17 of the RTE Act, 2009,” the NCPCR said.
Hence, the top child rights authority has directed the relevant officials to issue appropriate directives and guarantee that schools refrain from engaging in any practices that could potentially subject children to physical punishment or bias.
A 51-year-old school principal named Dr Rajeev Pandey in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad was arrested on 29 August for molesting girl students. He was apprehended after some pupils sent Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a “letter in blood” pleading with him to act against him on 28 August.
The accused principal. (Source: NDTV)
The four-page letter from the female students read that the accused had called them in one by one in his office under various guises and touched them inappropriately. He also threatened them when they opposed his conduct. The victims, who range in age from 12 to 15, conveyed that they were initially too afraid to speak out about the abuse but ultimately alerted their parents.
They highlighted the police inaction and informed their families were being threatened. “We were made to sit at the police station for four hours and yet there is no action against the principal. Police come to our homes daily and threaten our parents. It is difficult to even step out.”
They stated, “School authorities have ordered us to not attend classes anymore. All of us who have been harassed by him want to discuss this issue with you in person. We request you to grant us and our parents permission to meet you and demand justice. We are all your daughters.”
The girls mentioned that their family members went to the school along with a local councillor, Parmosh Yadav on 21 August and addressed the principal after they informed them of his behaviour which resulted in a confrontation. He abused them as well as their family members. He was beaten up by them and ended up receiving injuries.
The parents of the students were named in a counter-complaint that the principal registered in which he claimed that they had violated school property and abused him. Both parties are now the subject of police reports. Assistant Commissioner of Police Saloni Agarwal who was accused of reprimanding the students commented, “A complaint against the principal was filed right away after students alleged molestation and bad touch by him.”
“Every time the principal walked into class, the girls would recoil. He hardly ever used the teacher’s desk, choosing to sit among the students. He would tell us he would fix our dresses. He would touch us inappropriately. When we objected, he said it was his love for us,” disclosed a student in an interview with The Times of India.
She spoke about her ordeal in the classroom hours after the principal of the co-educational school, which is government-aided and has classes from VI-X was nabbed by police. “I have been seeing this since I took admission here in 2021. He would often call girls to his cabin and comment on their clothes. He would ask things like, ‘What is that you are wearing inside,” she unveiled.
She added, “One day, he called me to his cabin and asked me some objectionable questions too. He even patted some girls inappropriately on the pretext of fixing their uniforms.”
The students endured their suffering in quiet until an incident on 21 August forced them to speak up. They informed their parents at that point, who brought the matter to the councillor. A student who had been instructed by the principal to stay back after class came out crying from his office on that fateful day.
The mother of another student at the school noted, “In between sobs, she only managed to say the principal had unbuttoned her shirt and touched her. Later, I came to know he did similar things to my daughter as well,” on 29 August.
“When we reached out to a teacher, we were told to complain should he do it again. But we didn’t agree. We thought if we don’t complain now, then more students will have to go through this trauma,” the aforementioned student remarked.
The pupils had asserted that if they raised concerns, the principal would threaten to flunk their examinations and remove their names from the records. The father of another student lamented, “My daughter had told me earlier about the principal’s bad touch. It was my mistake that I didn’t take her seriously. I thought he cared for the students. I regret not believing her now.”
Parents approached the councillor on 22 August who talked to multiple girls separately. She received complaint letters from more than 50 girls and shared them with the cops. An FIR was subsequently registered against the offender under sections 354A (molestation) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, however, nothing more was done.
The principal had been taken into custody, and portions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act had been included in the FIR, according to DCP (rural) Vivek Yadav. He alleged, “Allegations about police inaction are untrue. No police team has visited the houses of the students or threatened them. But we will look into this claim as well.”
The principal filed a counter-complaint last week alleging that 60 parents, the councilwoman, and two of her men assaulted him on the school grounds. He refuted the charges and charged the councillor with vendetta. “The councillor is trying to corner me as I refused to give admission to a child known to her. Over 50 people stormed into my office in her presence and attacked me.”
He explained that he had only been attending sessions for approximately a month because the English teacher had been on leave since August. “I punished a few students during these classes for giving incorrect answers or to discipline them. But I never touched anyone inappropriately.”
On the 1st of September 2023, India’s new frigate Mahendragiri will be launched from Mazagon Dock in Mumbai, the Ministry of Defence said. According to a statement issued by the Vice President’s Secretariat on Wednesday (30 August), Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar along with his wife Sudesh will visit Mumbai on the 1st of September. Vice President is said to be the chief guest at the launch ceremony of the new warship.
In its official press release in PIB, the Ministry noted that Mahendragiri is the seventh and last ship under Project 17A Frigates. These warships have improved stealth features, advanced weapons, and sensors along with platform management systems. The official statement highlights that these warships are an evolution from the Project 17 Class Frigates popularly known as Shivalik Class.
Notably, these new frigates are named after a mountain peak, Mahendragiri that is located in the Eastern Ghats in the state of Orissa. These are technologically advanced warships and are a symbol of India’s determination to embrace its rich naval heritage, the statement added. With these advanced warships, the Indian navy is propelling itself toward a future of indigenous defense capabilities.
Project 17A
Earlier, on the 17th of August, President Droupadi Murmu launched Vindhyagiri at GRSE. It was the sixth warship to be launched under Project 17A. Between, 2019-2023, the other six ships of Project 17A have been launched so far by MDL & GRSE.
It is pertinent to note that Project 17A was rolled out in 2019 to construct a series of stealth guided-missile frigates. In 2019, the first stealth ship launched under this program was the Nilgiri frigate. Project 17A is a follow-up of the Project 17 Class Frigates (Shivalik Class), with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.
It is important to note that a warship’s launch is a significant milestone in its construction. This is when the ship goes into the water for the first time. The Project 17A warships are currently in different stages of construction and are expected to be delivered to the navy during 2024-26. Overall, four warships by Mazagoan Dock Private Limited while three ships by M/s GRSE are under construction, under the Project 17A program.
The Ministry has also highlighted that this is a significant achievement for building a self-reliant naval force as Project 17A ships have been designed in-house by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau. It is considered the pioneer organisation for all warship design activities.
In line with the ‘Aatma Nirbharata’ initiative, a substantial 75% of the orders for equipment and systems under Project 17A ships have been ordered from indigenous firms, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Lauding the achievement, the Ministry said, “The launch of Mahendragiri is an apt testament to the incredible progress our Nation has made in building a self-reliant naval force.”
People who live on Earth have long been fascinated by what is in space or what specifically occurs there at particular times. Numerous scientists, space agencies, and organizations from nations including Russia, the US, Europe, China, Japan, and India have carried out numerous space missions to date in an effort to satisfy humanity’s insatiable curiosity. These missions have explored vast possibilities and opportunities for life to one day exist in the universe.
Human-made items are now capable of travelling to Mars and the Moon, the only natural satellite of the Earth, thanks to the work of scientists from all around the world. To date around 50 spacecraft missions have been launched to Mars and around 146 have been launched to the Moon. These missions however include the number of failed ones. The number also includes flybys, impact probes, orbiters, landers, and rovers, on both Mars and the Moon and crewed missions only to the Moon.
Recently, India launched its third lunar mission, Chandrayaan 3, and witnessed its successful attempt at a soft landing on the surface of the Moon on August 23. Post-landing the spacecraft has begun its investigation into the elemental composition of the Earth’s only natural satellite, its surface plasma environment, lunar seismicity, and thermophysical features.
Telescope missions launched to get a clearer view of the Universe
Along with spacecraft, many telescope missions have also been launched into space by countries like Russia, the USA, Europe, and China. Telescopes are launched into orbit around the Earth to get a clearer view of the Universe, unobstructed by the earth’s atmosphere. Space telescopes are of a variety of shapes and sizes some of which are employed to investigate unique objects, such as the Sun while others are employed to investigate different types of light emitted by space objects.
The most famous orbital telescope is the Hubble Telescope launched in 1990, which has given us stunning visuals of galaxies billions of light years away. Another well-known space telescope is the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope featuring a massive 6.5 metre gold-plated mirror, which was launched in December 2021 and reached its orbit at L2 Lagrange point in January 2022.
One such space telescope was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the year 1999 to make space-based observations and notably its mission is ongoing as of 2023. Chandra X-ray Observatory, a Flagship-class space telescope is an Earth satellite in a 64-hour orbit and is named after the Nobel Prize-winning Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.
Chandra was launched in the year 1999 (Image- California Science Center)
One of the four major observatories built by NASA and launched between 1999 and 2003, Chandra uses a variety of technologies to study a particular region of space’s energy. The other three great observatory space telescopes launched by NASA are the Hubble Space Telescope, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope (2003–2020).
Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into space by Space Shuttle Columbia in July 1999 and was originally known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility before its launch. The name Chandra X-ray Observatory was chosen after NASA started a contest to name the X-Ray Observatory, which received over six thousand entries.
How Chandra operates
Currently orbiting the planet, the Chandra X-ray Observatory is looking through the cosmos for signs of extremely high-temperature occurrences in space. These occurrences emit X-rays, a form of highly energized light that cannot be perceived by the human eye. As per the reports, Chandra helps astronomers study the X-rays that apparently cannot travel through the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Chandra gathers X-rays, some from as distant as 10 billion light years away, and employs a high-resolution camera (HRC) to translate them into images. Additionally, the Chandra is equipped with equipment that can gauge X-ray intensity and temperature.
The Chandra comprises barrel-shaped mirrors with reflecting surfaces that run practically parallel to the X-rays given that X-rays would be absorbed right into the dish-shaped mirrors generally employed in telescopes that monitor visible light. The X-rays are focussed onto a point that is roughly half the width of a human hair and barely bounce off the mirrors before being recorded and quantified.
X-ray telescopes are crucial because they enable astronomers and scientists to observe phenomena in space that are typically hidden from the normal human view. Further, an X-ray telescope can see high-energy phenomena like massive explosions, black holes, and neutron stars in much greater detail and is also capable of adding an extra dimension to objects in space that also give off visible light.
Six cosmos mages captured by Chandra (Image- California Science Centre)
The Chandra, which bears the name of Nobel laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, orbits the planet up to 200 times higher than the Hubble—roughly one-third the moon’s distance! Notably, Chandra is the third of NASA’s four outstanding observatories created to study the cosmos from Earth’s orbit.
How was Chandra given its name?
Chandra was proposed to NASA in the year 1976 by Riccardo Giacconi and Harvey Tananbaum and was called as Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF). While the project’s preliminary work was ongoing, NASA launched Einstein (HEAO-2), the first imaging X-ray telescope, into orbit in 1978. The AXAF project was modified to an elliptical one, which at its farthest point would go one-third of the distance to the Moon. It became the US follow-on to the Einstein Observatory launched in the year 1999.
AXAF was renamed Chandra as part of a competition launched by NASA in 1998 that attracted more than 6,000 proposals from all across the world. The name was proposed by the contest winners, Tyrel Johnson and Jatila van der Veen, in honor of the Indian-American physicist and Nobel Prize winner Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. Chandrasekhar is renowned for his work in figuring out the white dwarf star’s maximum mass, which contributed to the comprehension of high-energy astronomical phenomena like neutron stars and black holes.
Lalitha Chandrasekhar (left) with contest winners Jatila van der Veen (center) and Tyrel Johnson (right) (Image- Chandra chronicles)
Theoretical physicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics with William A. Fowler for “theoretical studies of the physical processes important to the structure and evolution of the stars.” Many of the current theoretical models of the final evolutionary stages of big stars and black holes are based on his mathematical analysis of stellar evolution. Many concepts, entities, and technological advances bear his name, including as the Chandrasekhar limit and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory.
He also demonstrated the Chandrasekhar limit, which states that a white dwarf’s mass cannot be greater than 1.44 times that of the Sun. Chandra published ten books and later served as the editor of the prominent Astrophysical Journal for nineteen years. The Chandra X-Ray Observatory was named in his honor 4 years after his death, in the year 1999.
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar awarded with Nobel Prize (Image- Yourstory.com)
Chandra and its ongoing mission as of 2023
The telescope was originally scheduled to be launched in December 1998 but was launched on July 23, 1999, by Space Shuttle Columbia orbiter. It has been providing statistics and returning data since the first month of its launch. The Chandra X-ray Centre in Cambridge, Massachusetts operates the telescope with support from MIT and Northrop Grumman Space Technology.
Despite having a 5-year planned lifespan when it initially launched, NASA chose to extend Chandra’s life in 2001 owing to the observatory’s exceptional performance. The Chandra X-ray Centre conducted a study in 2004 that suggested the observatory may operate for at least 15 years. Notably, its mission is still ongoing as of 2023.
Chandra since its launch has sent plenty of images featuring the Solar System, stars, exoplanets, white Dwarfs, supernovas, neutron stars, black holes, galaxies, quasars, and also galaxy clusters. it continues to send clear pictures of particulates in space assisting astronomers to study the Universe closely and conduct further research.
The recent ones sent by the telescope include eye-catching images of an elliptical galaxy that is 55 million light-years away in the Virgo Cluster, Black Hole Pairs about 760 million light-years away, and also a spiral galaxy located about 32 million light-years from Earth.
Black Hole Pairs discovered by NASA’s Chandra
On August 22, Chandra informed the astronomers about a tidal disruption event that happened about 290 million miles away from Earth. “A giant black hole destroyed a large star and threw its wreckage into space,” the official Twitter (X) handle of the Chandra Observatory said. It also added that the star was about three times the mass of our Sun, making the one of the largest “tidal disruption events” yet discovered.
A giant black hole destroyed a large star and threw its wreckage into space. The star was about three times the mass of our Sun, making this one of the largest "tidal disruption events" yet discovered. More at: https://t.co/K5RLyFcIbDpic.twitter.com/Wl40zuQGv2
Black holes, supernova remnants, starburst galaxies, and a variety of strange objects at the farthest reaches of the universe are Chandra’s main research interests. Chandra also discovered that starburst galaxies have a disproportionately higher number of intermediate-size black holes that descend to the centre of the galaxy, where they combine with one another.
Galaxies and strange objects discovered by Chandra (Image- space.com)
Chandra discovered a record-breaking outburst from the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole, known as Sagittarius A, or Sgr A, in 2013. At the time, astronomers were studying how Sgr A* might respond to what was initially thought to be a cloud of gas but was subsequently discovered to be a cloud enclosing a compact object.
Chandra also was one of several telescopes that detected a high-energy light pulse from a massive explosion triggered by two merging neutron stars in 2017. Observations with the National Science Foundation’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) then discovered gravitational waves associated with the collision, prompting scientists to search for evidence of the explosion’s aftermath.
NASA Missions Catching First Light from a gravitational-wave event (Image- NASA)
Chandra is even assisting humans in preparing for journeys to other star systems. Chandra presented the findings of a decade-long study of Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to the sun, in 2018. According to the reports, the triple star system is a little over four light-years away from Earth and is the goal of programs such as Breakthrough Starshot, which wants to launch a swarm of nanocrafts to the system in search of potentially life-bearing stars.
Chandra presenting study of Alpha Centauri (NASA)
Chandra’s mission, which was supposed to last five years but was later extended to at least ten, is still operational after more than 23 years. According to Chandra’s operators interviewed in 2018, the instrument continues to have adequate power and propulsion system reserves to endure for a few more years, assisting astronomers with abundant space inputs to ultimately conduct research and explore vast possibilities and opportunities for life to one day survive in another supposed parallel world.
