Astronomers have found the biggest star discovered till date. R136a1, the new star, is found in the Tarantula nebula, which is one of our neighbouring galaxies. It is about 165,000 light-years away. This colossal star has a mass 265 times greater than the sun, temperature around 40,000 ˚C and is millions of times brighter.
Unlike humans, stars are born heavy and lose weight as they age. Being around 1.5 million years old only, R136a1, has already gained 'middle-aged' star weight. This over grown baby has undergone an intense weight-loss, shedding a fifth of its initial mass by now which would have been over 320 solar masses (mass of the sun). Such heavyweight stars are extremely rare, and are born only within the densest star clusters. This one was found in a cluster of two, NGC 3603 and RMC 136a clusters orbiting each other.
Scientists say if this star, replaced our sun, it would pull Earth so close that the length of an "Earth year" would shrink to three weeks.
Living barely 400 miles away from the site of the most devastating oil spill in the history of the US, nearly 638 turtles bore the brunt of its posion. They have been found dead in the Florida coast. 82 per cent of the victims were Kemp Ridleys. They have been on the endangered list since 1973, and the US and Mexico have worked together since then to try to rejuvenate the species.
To save the turtles, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service decided to send thousands of hatchlings off to the Texas shore, as it has not been hit so hard by the oil. Around 165 baby turtles were released during the day, and around 1,000 in the night.
NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida also played a role in the rescue operations, by packing the turtles nests in Styrofoam boxes with sand and then transporting them in a FedEx truck to a secure, climate-controlled facility at the space centre. However, biologists are not sure if this would work. Prolonged captivity might just prove to be more harmful than releasing in less polluted waters, they say.
Where will the turtle die now?
Swimming pools are not really as temptingly blue as they appear. Public swimming pools can be seriously polluted due to their continuous exposure to dirt brought in by swimmers and ambience dirt. Sweat, urine, snot, saliva, hairs, cosmetics, pollution from swimwear, skin tissues, a disgustingly large range of muck--this is how the divers pollute a pool.
Chemically, the components of sweat and urine are not harmful for human health. But when most of these pollutants get mixed with disinfectants like chlorine, they may become chemically modified into more toxic agents like chloramines.
Long-term exposure to these disinfectant byproducts can mutate genes, induce birth defects, accelerate the aging process, cause respiratory ailments, asthma and even induce bladder cancer, according to researchers. Also, as a result of constant evaporation, the resistance of the mucous membranes of swimmers can weaken, causing them to become more susceptive to pathogens around them. Most pathogenic microorganisms cause diarrhoea or skin rashes, fevers, vomiting, jaundice, respiration or eye infections and even paralysis, brain and heart inflammation.
So next summer, think before you dive.
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