the fifth exoplanet discovery that became possible as a result of the concerted efforts of the PARAS-1 and PARAS-2 spectrographs.
The increasing mastery of the astronomical instrumentation in India is shown by the PARAS-2.
PARAS-2 is the most accurate radial velocity (RV) spectrograph in Asia.
KM3NeT Collaboration
The latest advancements in the study of the neutrino have been through the KM3NeT (Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope) Collaboration.
It is a global project aimed at building deep-sea observatories.
The KM3NeT Collaboration has over 360 professionals working in 21 countries (68 institutions).
This group is building observatories many miles beneath the Mediterranean Sea.
Neutrinos are neutralized electrically subatomic particles with a mass that is very small.
Recently they detected a ghost particle in the Mediterranean Sea with the ARCA detector of the KM3NeT project.
The incredible neutrino, which is referred to as KM3-230213A.
Scientists put its energy estimated at approximately 220 million billion.
KM3NeT was made up of two detectors named ARCA and ORCA.
ARCA is within 50 miles of Portopalo di Capo Passero in Sicily, and is 11,319 feet deep.
ORCA lays 8,038 feet offshore of Toulon, France.
Brine Pools at Red Sea
The Red Sea has natural death traps, which have been discovered by the Scientists who have been exploring the Red Sea.
The NEOM Brine Pools are being discovered just 1.25 miles off-shore.
It is said that there Moses parted the waters.
The brine pools were discovered 4,000 feet under the surface of the gulf of Aqaba.
ENVIRONMENT
Namdapha National Park Elephant.
The first time in 12 years, an elephant has been photographed in the easternmost tiger reserve in India- Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve.
The last such sighting was in 2013.
Namdapha National Park is another park found in Arunachal Pradesh, Changlang district.
It was created in 1983 and is also a recognised biodiversity hotspot.
In the park, there are more than 1,000 plant species and about 1,400 animal species.
Olive Ridley turtles at Rushikulya mouth.
Olive Ridley turtles had missed the River Rushikulya in Ganjam district in Odisha in 2024 when the mass nesting was to take place.
Rushikulya river mouth is among the largest rookeries in the country, and where millions of female Olives Ridley turtles throng to nest en masse (arribada in Spanish).
The other locations in Odisha, where mass nesting of the Olive Ridleys occurs, are Gahirmatha and Deve river mouth in Kendrapara and Puri districts respectively.
In 2002, 2007, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2024 the mass nesting in the river mouth was missed.
New wetlands in Tamil Nadu 2025
There are two bird reserves in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu, namely Sakkarakottai and Therthangal, which are the Ramsar reserves.
This gives the State 20 Ramsar sites and has the most Ramsar sites in India.
Uttar Pradesh comes next behind with 10 sites.
There are two other Ramsar sanctuaries in Ramanathapuram, viz., Chitrangudi and Kanjirankulam.
There are other 2 new locations namely the Khekepalri Wetland (Sikhim), and the Udhwa Lake (Jharkhand).
In this way, currently there are 89 Ramsar sites in India.
In 2002 the Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary gained the first Ramsar designation in Tamil Nadu.
In this case the water is calculated to contain up to 10 times the amount of salt as the normal seawater and the absence of oxygen leads to the pools killing and stunning all marine life entering it.
The Ocean Coordination Mechanism.
The Intergovernmental Oceanography Commission of the UNESCO announced it with emphasis on the Caribbean and the North Brazil shelf.
These are biodiversity rich areas and the coral reefs and fisheries contribute to local economies, to the tune of about 610 million annually.
The North Brazil Shelf was deemed as a Large Marine Ecosystem.
It contains more than 500 species of fish and serves as a natural storm shield.
It has already received an initial funding of 15 million dollars as a global environment facility under the UNDP/GEF PROCARIBE+ Project.
Another major contribution by the GEF towards the initiative is a total of $126.02 million in co-financing.
The other one - Global Fund for Coral Reefs - has raised approximately 225 million to date and seeks to raise up to 3 billion by 2030.
Mount Taranaki - Legal Person
New Zealand has given Mount Taranaki, which now has a formal name of Taranaki Maunga, equal rights as a human being.