9th October 2019 Current Affairs

Physics Nobel Prize

• This year’s Nobel Prize for Physics recognizes research that helps us understand our place in the universe.
• It was awarded to cosmologist James Peebles. His work is focused largely on ‘Cosmic Microwave Background’ (CMB) radiation. CMB is electromagnetic radiation left over from the early universe once it had cooled sufficiently following the Big Bang.
• He won one-half of the Prizes for his theoretical work to understand how the universe evolved after the Big Bang.
  The other half went to Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz.
• It is for their discovery of an exoplanet that challenged preconceived ideas about planets. It is orbiting the star ‘51 Pegasus’ that is similar to our Sun. ELODIE a spectrograph, built by Mayor, predicted the planet 51 Pegagsusb 

Air Force Day

• The Defense Minister of India formally received the first Rafael fighter jet (RB-001) built for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in France on 8^th October, 2019, coinciding with 87^th Air Force Day.

About Rafale:

• It is a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base.
• It is a fully versatile aircraft which can carry out all combat aviation missions to achieve air superiority and air defense, close air support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence.

Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will collaborate with meteorological agencies in China and Pakistan, among others, to provide climate forecast services to countries in the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region.

• The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has proposed for establishment of regional climate centres in Islamabad, Delhi and Beijing.
  
  
• These centres are expected to provide forecasting services, climate analyses.data sharing services, training and capacity-building, research and development.

Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) Region

The HKH region spans Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

• It traverses about 5 million square kilometres and hosts a large and culturally diverse population.
• It is considered the Third Pole (after the North and South Poles), and has significant implications for climate.
• It contains vast cryospheric zones and is also the world’s largest store of snow and ice outside the polar region.

Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR)

The Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) that was set up last year (in 2018) has started functioning as an information-sharing hub of maritime data.

• The centre will set up a line of action for incident responses to maritime security situations through a collaborative approach.
• To undertake the collection and dissemination of information on a daily basis and host the Monthly Maritime Security Update (MMSU) highlighting analysis on incidents, warnings, and advisories issued in the IOR.
• It is actively interacting with the maritime community and has already built linkages with 18 countries and 15 multinational/maritime security centers.
  
  
• All countries which have signed white shipping (commercial shipping information about the movement of cargo ships) information exchange agreements with India are IFC partners.
• Several Indian Ocean littoral states that have joined the coastal radar chain network include Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles

• This year’s Nobel Prize for Physics recognizes research that helps us understand our place in the universe.
• It was awarded to cosmologist James Peebles. His work is focused largely on ‘Cosmic Microwave Background’ (CMB) radiation. CMB is electromagnetic radiation left over from the early universe once it had cooled sufficiently following the Big Bang.

• He won one-half of the Prizes for his theoretical work to understand how the universe evolved after the Big Bang.
• The other half went to Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz.
• It is for their discovery of an exoplanet that challenged preconceived ideas about planets. It is orbiting the star ‘51 Pegasus’ that is similar to our Sun. ELODIE a spectrograph, built by Mayor, predicted the planet 51 Pegagsusb 

Air Force Day

• The Defense Minister of India formally received the first Rafael fighter jet (RB-001) built for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in France on 8^th October, 2019, coinciding with 87^th Air Force Day. About Rafale:
  
• It is a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base.
• It is a fully versatile aircraft which can carry out all combat aviation missions to achieve air superiority and air defense, close air support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence.

Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will collaborate with meteorological agencies in China and Pakistan, among others, to provide climate forecast services to countries in the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region.

• The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has proposed for establishment of regional climate centres in Islamabad, Delhi and Beijing.
  
  
• These centres are expected to provide forecasting services, climate analyses.data sharing services, training and capacity-building, research and development.

Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) Region

The HKH region spans Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

• It traverses about 5 million square kilometres and hosts a large and culturally diverse population.
• It is considered the Third Pole (after the North and South Poles), and has significant implications for climate.
• It contains vast cryospheric zones and is also the world’s largest store of snow and ice outside the polar region.

Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR)

The Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) that was set up last year (in 2018) has started functioning as an information-sharing hub of maritime data.

• The centre will set up a line of action for incident responses to maritime security situations through a collaborative approach.
• To undertake the collection and dissemination of information on a daily basis and host the Monthly Maritime Security Update (MMSU) highlighting analysis on incidents, warnings, and advisories issued in the IOR.
• It is actively interacting with the maritime community and has already built linkages with 18 countries and 15 multinational/maritime security centers.
  
  
• All countries which have signed white shipping (commercial shipping information about the movement of cargo ships) information exchange agreements with India are IFC partners.
• Several Indian Ocean littoral states that have joined the coastal radar chain network include Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles