SCOPE SCOPEHanle Dark Sky Reserve star party brings together astronomy enthusiasts for the third year
Astronomy enthusiasts from across the country participated in amateur astronomy and astrophotography related activities at the third edition of the HDSR Star Party that was jointly organised by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Department of Wildlife Protection of UT Ladakh, and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) between 18 and 23 September.
The PIB press release is here.
The DST press release is here.
SCOPE SCOPEAstronomers unveil observational evidence of how cosmic dust grains line up with the Galaxy’s magnetic field
Scientists have long believed that just like dust particles dancing in a ray of light, tiny cosmic particles floating between stars in the Milky Way act as storytellers of the universe. Now a team of astronomers, has just uncovered the strongest observational evidence yet of how these interstellar dust grains align themselves with magnetic fields in our Galaxy.
This is based on the paper titled "B-fields and Dust in Interstellar Filaments Using Dust Polarization (BALLAD-POL). III. Grain Alignment and Disruption Mechanisms in G34.43+0.24 Using Polarization Observations from JCMT/POL-2", by Saikhom Pravash, Archana Soam, Pham Ngoc Diep, Thiem Hoang, Nguyen Bich Ngoc, and Le Ngoc Tram, The Astrophysical Journal, 2025, 981, 128.
Press release by DST published here.
Press release by PIB published here.
Download the paper here.
SCOPE SCOPEA new window into the stars by modeling stellar atmosphere
In a major advance in computational astrophysics, IIA astronomers and collaborators have developed a method to compute more realistic properties of stellar atmospheres. The method opens the door to more realistic simulations of stellar spectra — the primary tool astronomers use to decode the physical conditions in stars, circumstellar disks, and interstellar clouds.
This is based on the paper titled "Full non-LTE multi-level radiative transfer: I. An atom with three bound infinitely sharp levels", by Lagache T., Paletou, F., and Sampoorna, M., Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2025, 699, A198.
Press release by DST published here.
Press release by PIB published here.
Download the paper here.
SCOPE SCOPEIndian Institute of Astrophysics Training Workshop at Kodaikanal and Kavalur for Total Lunar Eclipse
A total lunar eclipse is to occur on the night of 7-8 September 2025, which will be visible from all over India. IIA therefore organised two “Train the Trainers” Workshops during 2-3 August 2025, one at the Vainu Bappu Observatory in Kavalur, and the other at the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory in Kodaikanal. These workshops were to train science and astronomy communicators and teachers in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry so that they can in turn organise preparatory workshops and eclipse viewing camps in their neighbourhoods.
Link to PIB article here.
SCOPE SCOPESolar blasts that lit up Ladakh Skies May last year uncoded
A new study by IIA astronomers has revealed crucial insights into how multiple successive solar blasts known as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) have interacted with each other and evolved thermally en route from the Sun to Earth. This occurrence triggered the most intense space weather event in the last two decades, which was observed on 10th May 2024. These findings offer a major step forward for improving space weather forecasting models, particularly in predicting the impact of complex CME events on Earth's magnetosphere.
This is based on the paper titled "Evolution of the interacting coronal mass ejections that drove the great geomagnetic storm of 10 May 2024", by Soumyaranjan Khuntia, Wageesh Mishra, and Anjali Agarwal, 2025, Astronomy and Astrophysics, 698, A79.
Press release by PIB published here.
Press release issued by DST here.
Download the paper from here.
SCOPE SCOPETiny loops in Solar Corona can unveil Sun's hidden explosive secrets
A new breakthrough from astronomers reveals a dazzling world of miniature plasma loops in the lower layers of the Sun's atmosphere. These are so small and short-lived, that they have stayed hidden until now. However, they hold clues to one of the Sun’s deepest mysteries --how it stores and unleashes magnetic energy.
This is based on the paper titled "Unveiling the Dynamics and Genesis of Small-scale Fine-structure Loops in the Lower Solar Atmosphere", by Annu Bura, Tanmoy Samanta, Alphonse C. Sterling, Yajie Chen, Jayant Joshi, Vasyl Yurchyshyn, and Ronald L. Moore, 2025, The Astrophysical Journal, 983, 144.
Press release by PIB published here.
Press release issued by DST here.
Download the paper from here.
SCOPE SCOPEIIA Bengaluru scientists discover a new kind of Stellar Chemistry
Far away in the Ophiuchus Constellation, a peculiar star named A980, 25800 light years away, is rewriting what we know about stellar chemistry. Researchers have uncovered a cosmic twist -- this mysterious star that belongs to a rare class called Extreme Helium (EHe) stars, carries surprisingly high amount of germanium—a metallic element never before observed in this type of star.
This is based on the paper titled "Detection of Enhanced Germanium in a New Cool Extreme Helium Star A980: Insights and Implications", by Ajay Kumar Saini and Gajendra Pandey, 2025, The Astrophysical Journal, 979, 239.
Press release by PIB published here.
Press release issued by DST here.
Download the paper from here or here.
SCOPE SCOPEScientists Chart the Sun's Subsurface Weather Patterns Tied to Its 11-Year Activity Cycle
An international team of solar physicists has unveiled new insights into the dynamic "inner weather" of the Sun—plasma currents just beneath its surface that pulse in step with its 11-year sunspot cycle. In a study published on the 22nd of April 2025, in the The Astrophysical Journal Letters, researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Stanford University (USA), and the National Solar Observatory (NSO, USA) have traced how these hidden flows shift over time, potentially reshaping our understanding of how the Sun's interior connects to its outer magnetic behavior, which has far-reaching influence on space weather and Earth.
This is based on the paper titled "Solar Cycle Variations in Meridional Flows and Rotational Shear within the Sun's Near-surface Shear Layer", by Anisha Sen, S. P. Rajaguru, Abhinav Govindan Iyer, Ruizhu Chen, Junwei Zhao, and Shukur Kholikov, 2025, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 984, 1.
Press release by PIB published here.
Press release issued by DST here.
Download the paper from here.
SCOPE SCOPEA new method to reliably estimate Helium abundance in the Sun
Since Helium does not produce any observable spectral lines from the visible surface, or the photosphere, of the Sun, its abundance has usually been estimated through indirect means. In a recent study, the abundance of Helium in our Sun has been estimated accurately using the Magnesium and Carbon features in the observed high-resolution spectrum of the Sun.
This is based on the paper titled "Helium Abundance of the Sun: A Spectroscopic Analysis", by Satyajeet Moharana, B. P. Hema, and Gajendra Pandey, 2024, Astrophysical Journal, 974, 2.
Press release by PIB published here.
Press release issued by DST here.
Download the paper from here.
SCOPE SCOPECurious case of missing dark matter in a distant galaxy
The galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 has remained a puzzle for astronomers, since modeling has shown that it is deficient in dark matter, which is in conflict with the standard galaxy formation and evolution models. A recent work from IIA shows that the estimation of the dark matter halo is critically dependent on the shape and structure of the dark matter halo and anisotropy of the stellar dispersion.
This is based on the paper titled "Challenges in modeling the dark matter halo of NGC 1052–DF2: Cored versus cuspy halo models", by K. Aditya, 2024, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Letters, 984, 1.
Press release issued by DST here.
Download the paper from here.