TECHNOLOGY
Vol 2, Issue 5 April 16-30, 2022
Hubble finds new planet forming in intense, violent way IANS
Washington, April 6 (IANS) NASA and European Space Agency’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured images of a Jupiter-like protoplanet forming through what researchers describe as an “intense and violent process”. This discovery supports a long-debated theory for how planets like Jupiter form, called “disk instability”, the researchers said. The new planet under construction is embedded in a protoplanetary disk of dust and gas with distinct spiral structure swirling around surrounding a young star that’s estimated to be around 2 million years old -- the age at when planet formation was underway in our
solar system. Our solar system’s age is currently 4.6 billion years. “Nature is clever; it can produce planets in a range of different ways,” said lead researcher Thayne Currie from the Subaru Telescope and Eureka Scientific. The newly forming planet, called AB Aurigae b, is probably about nine times more massive than Jupiter and orbits its host star at a whopping distance of 8.6 billion miles - over two times farther than Pluto is from our Sun. At that distance it would take a very long time, if ever, for a Jupiter-sized planet to form. This leads researchers to conclude that the disk instability has enabled this planet to
form at such a great distance. And, it is in a striking contrast to expectations of planet formation by the widely accepted core accretion model. All planets are made from material that originated in a circumstellar disk. The dominant theory for jovian planet formation is called “core accretion”, a bottom-up approach where planets embedded in the disk grow from small objects - with sizes ranging from dust grains to boulders - colliding and sticking together as they orbit a star. The new analysis, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, combines data from two Hubble instruments: the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph. These data were compared to those from a state-of-the-art planet imaging instrument called SCExAO on Japan’s 8.2-metre Subaru Telescope located at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Understanding the early days of the formation of Jupiter-like planets provides astronomers with more context into the history of our own solar system. This discovery paves the way for future studies of the chemical make-up of protoplanetary disks like AB Aurigae, including with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.
Elevation Capital launches new $670 mn fund for early-stage startups in India IANS
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Leading venture capital firm Elevation Capital on Friday announced its eighth $670 million fund for early-stage startups in India and to help their founders realise their dreams. Over the past two decades, the company has invested almost $2 billion of capital in over 150 companies across seven funds, with 13 early-stage investments becoming unicorns. These include category leaders such as Acko, FirstCry, Makemytrip, Meesho, NoBroker, Paytm,
Sharechat, Spinny, Swiggy, Unacademy, Urban Company, Xpressbees and several others. With the $670 million Fund VIII, the VC said in a statement that it will once again focus on the seed/Series A stage as its core. According to the company, its investment pace has been accelerating and went up by 100 per cent in the past 12 months. The firm has to date invested in over 150 companies across consumer internet, SaaS, fintech, consumer brands, edtech, healthtech and
Web3/Crypto, and has offices in Bengaluru, Gurugram and Salt Lake City in the US. “Fund VIII will allow us to demonstrate a greater commitment to exceptional founders with a larger initial investment and continued support to them until much later in their journeys,” said the VC. Elevation (earlier SAIF Partners) first started investing in India 20 years ago. India’s equity market capitalisation is already the fifth-highest in the world, at $3.2 trillion, and is expected to approach $10 trillion over the next 10 years. “We have just scratched the surface of India’s tech potential. The 100 unicorns in India alone have a combined valuation of $240 billion. We believe that this will grow over 10x over the next decade and Indian tech companies will have more than $2 trillion of market cap,” said the company. The firm is led by co-managing partners Ravi Adusumalli and Mukul Arora, along with three managing directors Mridul Arora, Deepak Gaur and Mayank Khanduja.
Indian woman-led deep tech startup Instoried secures $200 mn
Bengaluru, April 7: Deep tech platform Instoried on Thursday said it has secured $200 mn commitment from global investment group GEM Global Yield, and will use the funds to expand operations globally and develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based content generation tools. Led by a woman founder, Sharmin www.indianabroad.news
Ali, Instoried uses AI to help people write original and more lively content, make messaging crisper, improve headline impact, improve empathy and tone. Utilising 30 million data points, the platform’s proprietary algorithm powers a top-notch collaborative content creation tool that provides
instant feedback in real-time. “Instoried helps people convey the proper tonality in everything they write from email to blogs, from marketing copy and advertising to long-form articles,” said Sharmin Ali, also the CEO of Instoried. The platform will further invest in its technology to add a Google Chrome extension, a WordPress plug-in and other elements to its product portfolio. Under the agreement, GEM will provide a share subscription facility of up to $200 million, to be drawn at the option of the company, for a 36-month term following a public listing. Instoried aims to go public via SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) or the traditional IPO route. Additionally, the platform has plans to grow its executive team and presence globally. For the India market, Instoried will focus on hiring for leadership and technology roles, develop the tech stack to launch their own content generation tool and invest in marketing in India and Asia markets. GEM is a $3.4 billion, alternative investment group with offices in Paris, New York and the Bahamas.
‘Beginning of many beginnings’: Private mission Ax-1 lifts off to space station IANS
Washington, April 8 (IANS) American company Axiom Space has launched the world’s first private mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday. The 4-member crew lifted off on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 11.17 a.m. EDT (8.47 pm IST) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the company said. The Ax-1 crew members includes Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria of Spain and the US, Pilot Larry Connor of the US, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel, and Mark Pathy of Canada. “This is a very special moment for us. The launch of Ax-1 is a beginning of many beginnings. Ax-1’s launch to ISS is part of our journey to build a first private commercial space station,” Kamal Ghaffarian, Executive Chairman, Axiom Space during the launch. “We will usher in a new era in private human spaceflight when they cross the threshold to enter the ISS,” added Michael Suffredini, President and CEO of Axiom Space. He thanked SpaceX, the astronauts and Axiom team for “long hours of training, planning, and dedication”. Suffredini also thanked NASA for its “vision to develop a sustainable presence in low-Earth orbit”. “This takes commerce to a whole new level. Axiom_Space’s #Ax1 mission is on its way to the Space Station in SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavoura”a key step in our ongoing work to open opportunities for
space travellers in low-Earth orbit,” NASA said in a tweet. During their 10-day mission, the crew will spend eight days on the ISS conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. The crew has shared that they are bringing over 25 different scientific experiments to work on during their eight-day station stay. NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts and Roscosmos cosmonauts already aboard the space station will welcome the Ax-1 crew after docking. Founded in 2016, Axiom has the ultimate goal of building private space stations Axiom Station, in lowEarth orbit that can serve as a global academic and commercial hub. “What a historic launch! Thank you to the dedicated teams at NASA
who have worked tirelessly to make this mission a reality,” said Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA’s partnership with industry through the commercial cargo and crew programs has led our nation to this new era in human spaceflight a” one with limitless potential. Congratulations to Axiom, SpaceX, and the Axiom-1 crew for making this first private mission to the International Space Station a reality,” he added.
Panasonic unveils its flagship mirrorless camera in India New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) Consumer durable major Panasonic India on Thursday launched its flagship mirrorless camera -- LUMIX GH6 in India for Rs 2,34,990. The company said that LUMIX GH6 offers outstanding mobility and high video performance, making it a perfect partner for the content creator community worldwide. It is available across all Panasonic brand shops in India. “In the growing needs of video streaming, content creators are more keen on the quality and uniqueness of the video contents they provide. To cater to these needs, we have developed LUMIX GH6 with advanced image processing technology to empower content creators with stunning mobility and innovative video performance,” Fumiyasu Fujimori, Managing Director, Panasonic Marketing India (PMIN), said in a statement. “The GH6 additionally introduces new codecs directly to internal camera recording and we hope this feature will be appreciated by creators. I believe LUMIX GH6 can be widely used for various purposes including films, music videos, documentaries and short clips as
photo and video hybrid camera,” it added. The body of the LUMIX GH6 is built with magnesium alloy and is a perfect amalgamation of performance, mobility, and rugged design, the company said. The new 25.2MP Live MOS Sensor boasts a high-resolution, high-speed signal readout, and a wide dynamic range running on the Venus Engine that allows faster rendering
IANS
of high-resolution images with natural noise texture and rich color reproduction, which is a hallmark of LUMIX cameras. The 2D and 3D Noise Reduction features enhance the visual quality of the video with dynamic motion and advanced capabilities that exceed professional standards. The autofocus performance of the LUMIX GH6 has been enhanced by utilizing the new sensor and image-processing engine.
Google ‘multisearch’ tool to help users search with photos
IANS
New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Google has introduced multi-search on its platform that allows people to use text and images at the same time to find the most relevant results. Currently available as a beta feature in English in the US, multisearch allows people to search with both images and text at the same time, to help them with their visual needs, including style and home decor questions. “With multisearch, you can ask a question about an object in front of you or refine your search by colour, brand or a visual attribute,” Google said in a statement late on Thursday. To get started, simply open up the Google app on Android or iOS, tap the Lens camera icon and either search one of your screenshots or snap a photo of the world around you, like the stylish wallpaper pattern at your local coffee shop. Then, swipe up and tap the “+ Add to your search” button to add text.
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You can take a screenshot of the orange dress and add the query “green” to find it in another colour. You can also snap a photo of your dining set and add the query “coffee table” to find a matching table. “All this is made possible by our latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence, which is making it
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easier to understand the world around you in more natural and intuitive ways,” said Google. “We’re also exploring ways in which this feature might be enhanced by MUM -- our latest AI model in Search -- to improve results for all the questions you could imagine asking,” the company added.
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