The night sky over Hanle village in Ladakh was illuminated by northern lights as an intense solar storm hit the Earth.

About  Aurora 

• Multi-coloured lights appear in upper atmosphere (ionosphere) over the Polar Regions and are visible from locations in the middle and high latitudes.
  • Colours can be blue, red, yellow, green, and orange. 
• Aurora in Northern Hemisphere is called aurora borealis and aurora australis in Southern Hemisphere.
• Caused by the interaction of solar wind with oxygen and nitrogen gas in atmosphere.

Global average concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) was 4.7 parts per million (ppm) in March 2024 (higher than March 2023), signifying large spike in Keeling Curve.

• It is the largest ever recorded leap in CO2 concentration at 425.22 ppm.

About Keeling Curve

• It is the record of atmospheric CO2 from Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO), since 1958.
  • MLO is a station that measures the elements in atmosphere that contribute to climate change.
  • It is located in Hawaii on the side of Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano.

• It is named after Dr. Charles David Keeling.

China is planning to construct a High Energy Photon Source (HEPS).

• This will put China among the few countries that have fourth-generation synchrotron light sources.
• Currently around 70 synchrotrons are scattered across the world. But only a few countries have fourth-generation synchrotrons such as Sweden, Brazil, France etc. 

About HEPS

• First Brightest Synchrotron X-Rays in Asia. 
  • Synchrotrons use electricity to produce intense beams of light more than a million times brighter than the sun.
• Rely on an array of magnets called a multi-bend achromat lattice to generate X-ray beams that are narrower and therefore brighter.
• Benefits:  Will help researchers' to understand matter in the dimensions of space, time, and energy, as well as at the level of molecules, atoms, electrons, and spin.

Indus-1 was India’s synchrotron. 

• India is also an associate member of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) based in Grenoble, France.

Ministry of Labour and Employment has boarded the PM Gati Shakti portal to identify and bridge gaps in social security coverage.

About PM Gati Shakti 

• Also known as National Master Plan for Multimodal Connectivity launched in 2021.
• It is a digital platform to bring 16 ministries including railways and roadways together.
• Purpose: 
  • Integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
  • Provide connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services from one mode of transport to another.
  • Reduce travel time for people.

• It is based on 6 pillars i.e. Comprehensiveness, Prioritization, Optimization, Synchronization, Analytical, and Dynamic.

Leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is sighted in Maharashtra’s Pench Tiger Reserve for the first time. 

About Leopard cat

• Forest-dwelling cat belongs to the family Felidae, noted for its leopard-like colouring.
• Distribution: Found across India, Southeast Asia, and nearby islands.
• Characteristics: Coat is yellowish or reddish brown above, white below, and heavily marked with dark spots and streaks. It is a Nocturnal animal.
• Habitat: tropical rainforest to temperate broadleaf forest, coniferous forest, shrub forest, grasslands.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Least Concern
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

Disappearance of Semal trees from Southern Rajasthan is creating adverse effects on the forests and people.

About Semal Trees

• It is a large deciduous tree, known for its Crimson red flowers.
• Ayurvedic medicines can be are prepared from every part of the tree.
  • For instance, roots are used for treating ailments such as diabetes, etc.
• It is worshipped by many tribal communities in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. 
• Its seed produces edible oil, used in making soaps.

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope aims to explore everything from our outer solar system to the edge of the observable universe.

About Telescope

• Objective: Focus on dark energy and dark matter, exoplanets, and a wide range of infrared astrophysics and planetary science topics.
• Key instruments: Wide Field and Coronagraph Instrument
• It will use microlensing to study exoplanets.
  • Microlensing is a form of gravitational lensing in which the light from a background source is bent by the gravitational field of a foreground lens to create distorted, multiple and/or brightened images.
• It will have a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble telescope.

State Bank of India has become the first trading-cum-clearing member at IIBX.

About IIBX

• Established at GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), Gandhinagar, Gujarat in 2022.
• Regulated by IFSC Authority (IFSCA).
• Promoted by India’s leading market infrastructure institutions like National Stock Exchange, Multi Commodity Exchange of India etc.
• Benefits
  • Gateway to import bullion into India.
  • Provide world class bullion exchange ecosystem to promote bullion trading, investment in bullion financial products and vaulting facilities in IFSCs.

• Bullion refers to physical gold and silver of high purity that is often kept in form of bars, ingots, or coins.