{"id":147839,"date":"2024-12-20T19:25:09","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T13:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=147839"},"modified":"2024-12-20T19:25:09","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T13:55:09","slug":"news-in-shorts-20-december-2024","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/news-in-shorts-20-december-2024","title":{"rendered":"News In Shorts: 20 December 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Polar Sundial<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Context: <\/b><b>A Polar sundial <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has been <\/span><b>designed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and is put on for a<\/span><b> public display in the \u2018Rocket Garden\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of its Space Museum at<\/span><b> Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.<\/b><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>About the Analemma-Corrected Polar Sundial<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>polar sundial with analemmatic correction<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> designed by the<\/span><b> VSSC accurately gives the Indian Standard Time (IST)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> along with the l<\/span><b>ocal solar time, as well as the date.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>\u2018Analemma\u2019 is the figure-eight patter<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">n made by the sun in the sky over the course of a year, generated by a combination of the Earth\u2019s tilt and its elliptical orbit.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The \u2018Style\u2019: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The upright section which casts the shadow on the sundial <\/span><b>is a 1.6 ft tall, 3D-printed miniature of the Rohini series RH200 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sounding rocket.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Polar Configuration:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The\u00a0 sundial <\/span><b>adopts a polar configuration <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">where the sundial plate is <\/span><b>affixed to a wedge-shaped structure, whose angle is determined by the latitude of the location.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The plate is<\/span><b> parallel to the Earth\u2019s polar axis,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the style parallel to the Earth\u2019s equatorial plane.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Analemmatic Correction: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a built in<\/span><b> \u2018analemmatic correction\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> whereby the<\/span><b> straight hour lines are replaced with inverted analemma curves<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the sundial.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It automatically <\/span><b>converts local solar time to mean solar time <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">throughout the year.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Indian Standard Time: T<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">o obtain IST, an <\/span><b>additional longitude correction is applied<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, based on the longitude of Thumba<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Course<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>About Sundial<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sundials are a <\/span><b>device that uses the position of the sun in the sky to indicate the time<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of day.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Components:\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Dial:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> A sundial has a flat plate (dial) with hour-lines marked on it<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Gnomon: I<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t may be a rod, wire, or metal casting which casts a shadow onto the dial.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>The Style: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, though a single point or nodus may be used.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Mechanism: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the <\/span><b>sun moves across the sky, the shadow of the gnomon moves and aligns with the hour-lines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, indicating the time.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The gnomon casts a<\/span><b> broad shadow; the shadow of the style shows the time<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>History: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sundials can be seen in many cultures all throughout history and date<\/span><b> back about 4,000 years. The earliest known sundial is an Egyptian shadow clock <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">made of green schist.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Limitations:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Sundials only work when t<\/span><b>here is direct sunlight,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so they don&#8217;t work at night or on cloudy days<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>The Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Context: <\/b><b>India and France<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has recently <\/span><b>signed an agreement towards the \u201cadaptive reuse\u201d of the North and South blocks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the ambitious The Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Ministry of Culture <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has partnered with<\/span><b> France Museums D\u00e9veloppement (FMD)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to develop the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum as a world-class cultural institution<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>About The Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a <\/span><b>part of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Announcement:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The museum was first <\/span><b>announced by the Prime Minister at the International Museum Expo in May 2023<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Objective:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> To ensure the<\/span><b> preservation of its\u00a0 architectural heritage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by adaptive reuse of the historic North and South Blocks while also creating a vibrant and efficient cultural space.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Approach<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum will be <\/span><b>developed through the Adaptive Reuse approach of France.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Adaptive Reuse approach <\/span><b>mirrors France&#8217;s &#8220;Grands Projets&#8221; initiative, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which saw the transformation of government buildings into iconic cultural spaces, most notable example being \u2018The Louvre Museum, Paris\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Area: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The museum will come up in an area spanning<\/span><b> approximately 1.55 lakh square metre across<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the iconic North and South Blocks in New Delhi\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The museum once built will <\/span><b>overtake The Louvre in Paris, (presently the world\u2019s biggest).<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Implementation Phases:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>First: It comprises the retrofitting of North Block<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (currently housing the offices of Ministries of Finance and Home Affairs)\u00a0 into a museum space by June 2026.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>The South Block<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which houses the Prime Minister\u2019s Office and Ministry of External Affairs offices, will be vacated<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>First Large Carnivore Pollinator<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Context: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently the Ethiopian Wolf was documented consuming nectar, this is first ever large carnivorous predator documented contributing to pollination.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>About Ethiopian wolf (<\/b><b><i>Canis simensis<\/i><\/b><b>)<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ethiopian wolf is Africa\u2019s most endangered carnivore, with fewer than 500 individuals.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Habitation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They are<\/span><b> endemic to Ethiopian highlands<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. They live\u00a0 in Ethiopia\u2019s high-altitude <\/span><b>\u201csky islands\u201d <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">above tropical forests.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Unique Pollination Behavior<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Observed feeding on nectar from <\/span><b>Ethiopian red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia species).<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Transfers pollen as its muzzle gets dusted while moving between flowers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Significance of Nectar Feeding: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Typically a rodent hunter, the wolf seeks nectar as an energy supplement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ecological Impact:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 It challenges conventional views of plant-pollinator interactions.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Highlights potential for apex predators to contribute to pollination.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Conservation status:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Listed as <\/span><b>Endangered species<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under IUCN Red list.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Conservation Implications:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Protecting the Ethiopian wolf helps sustain the <\/span><b>fragile Afroalpine ecosystem.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emphasizes the need to preserve unique species interactions critical for biodiversity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/store.pw.live\/govt-entrance-exams\/upsc-books?utm_source=SEO&#038;utm_medium=PW+Live&#038;utm_campaign=UPSC+CSE+Books\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check Out UPSC CSE Books From PW Store<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>IRIS\u00b2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><b>Context: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently the <\/span><b>European Space Agency (ESA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in partnership with the SpaceRISE consortium developed\u00a0 IRIS\u00b2, the European Union&#8217;s flagship<\/span><b> internet satellite constellation.<\/b><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>About IRIS\u00b2<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IRIS\u00b2 <\/span><b>(Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a <\/span><b>satellite internet constellation <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which aims to secure connectivity for Europe.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Specifications<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Comprises 290 satellites: 264 in<\/span><b> Low Earth Orbit (LEO)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and 18 in <\/span><b>Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike<\/span><b> SpaceX Starlink&#8217;s global approach<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with 7,000+ satellites,<\/span><b> IRIS\u00b2 prioritizes efficient interlinked satellite systems.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Objectives<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enhance <\/span><b>European digital sovereignty and secure communications.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support <\/span><b>critical infrastructure <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>defense capabilities.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthen connectivity in member states without relying on global competitors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Features<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Offers<\/span><b> secure, high-speed broadband in areas with low or no connectivity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provides connectivity for <\/span><b>government, private, and civilian use.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Focus on maritime, railway, aviation, and rural connectivity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enables applications like <\/span><b>border surveillance, crisis management, remote healthcare, and smart energy grids.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Other Examples of internet satellite constellation:<\/b> <b>OneWeb (UK)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and<\/span><b> Kuiper (USA)<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.6375%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 111.19%; 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About the Analemma-Corrected Polar Sundial The polar sundial with analemmatic correction designed by the VSSC accurately gives the Indian&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/news-in-shorts-20-december-2024\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">News In Shorts: 20 December 2024<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":147844,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"paper-wise":[],"subject":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/147839"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/current-affairs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147839"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/147839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147849,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/147839\/revisions\/147849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147839"},{"taxonomy":"paper-wise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper-wise?post=147839"},{"taxonomy":"subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject?post=147839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}