India becomes Associate Member State of CERN

His Excellency Mr Amandeep Singh Gill Ambassador shakes hands with CERN Director General Fabiola Gianotti (Image: Maximilien Brice/CERN)

Today, India became an Associate Member of CERN. This follows official notification to CERN that the Government of India has completed its internal approval procedures in respect of the agreement, signed in November 2016, granting that status to the country.

India and CERN signed a Cooperation Agreement in 1991, setting priorities for scientific and technical cooperation, followed by the signature of several Protocols. India’s relationship with the Organization dates back much further, initially through cooperation with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, whose high-energy physicists have been actively participating in experiments at CERN since the 1960s. They were later joined by scientists from the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore, in the 1990s. These and other institutes built components for the LEP accelerator and the L3, WA93 and WA89 detectors. Their scientists participated in important physics analyses and publications throughout the years.

All these developments paved the way, in 1996, for the Indian AEC (Atomic Energy Commission) to agree to take part in the construction of the LHC, and to contribute to the CMS and ALICE experiments and to the LHC Computing Grid with Tier-2 centres in Mumbai and Kolkata. In recognition of these substantial contributions, India was granted Observer status to the CERN Council in 2002. The success of the DAE-CERN partnership regarding the LHC has also led to cooperation on Novel Accelerator Technologies through DAE’s participation in CERN’s Linac4, SPL and CTF3 projects, and CERN’s contribution to DAE’s programmes. India also participates in the COMPASS, ISOLDE and nTOF experiments.

Today, India has become an Associate Member State of CERN¹. This follows official notification to CERN that the Government of India has completed its internal approval procedures in respect of the agreement, signed in November 2016, granting that status to the country.

via CERN: Updates for the general public
http://home.cern/about/updates/2017/01/india-becomes-associate-member-state-cern

Trilobites: Venus Smiled, With a Mysterious Wave Across Its Atmosphere

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Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft detected what scientists called a gravity wave above the solar system’s second planet, but it hasn’t been seen since.
via New York Times

COLLIDE International Award now open for entries

COLLIDE Geneva Artist Cassandre Poirier-Simon during her residency (Image: Sophia Bennett/CERN)

Today Arts at CERN and FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) announce their international call for artists to enter submissions for the COLLIDE International Award. This is the second year of successful collaboration between CERN and FACT, based in Liverpool. Last year over 900 artists, from 71 countries applied for the award.

In its sixth edition the COLLIDE International Award will award the winning artist with a prize of CHF 15,000 and a fully funded two-month residency for artistic and scientific research, at one of the largest science laboratories in the world, CERN. The partnership behind the COLLIDE International Award promotes dialogue between artists and scientists from all over the world.

“Science is a core pillar of cultural development, which is increasingly important for the advancement of knowledge. We are confident that COLLIDE International is a strong vehicle for achieving ever greater advances in knowledge and culture,” says Charlotte Lindberg Warakaulle, CERN Director for International Relations.

Moreover, the COLLIDE International Award includes a one-month residency at the UK's leading media arts centre, FACT, to start developing the winning proposal and to move into a funded production after the residency.

"FACT Liverpool is very pleased to be the partner to Arts at CERN for COLLIDE for a second year, following a fantastically inspirational and productive 2016. It's amazing to be able to introduce the public to artists whose work show how intrinsically art and science are connected. Last year's amazing response to this collaboration from science and art communities and the general public alike shows the importance to keep encouraging curiosity, which is always at the heart of what we do," says Professor Mike Stubbs, Director of FACT.

“COLLIDE International is a groundbreaking award which influences an international and flourishing scene of art and science. The partnership with FACT provides excellent opportunities to further explore conversations and dialogue between artists and scientists at CERN. I am excited to welcome applications from artists inspired by the cutting edge research environment at CERN and the opportunities that this collaboration brings to them,“ affirms Mónica Bello, Head of Arts at CERN.

Find out more and apply here

via CERN: Updates for the general public
http://home.cern/about/updates/2017/01/collide-international-award-now-open-entries

Take a Number: Absolutely Every Bit of Our Galaxy

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With novel mathematical methods, scientists have come up with a new estimate for the mass of the Milky Way.
via New York Times

Geostationary Highway through Orion

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Put a satellite in a circular orbit about 42,000 kilometers from the center of the Earth and it will orbit once in 24 hours. Because that matches Earth's rotation period, it is known as a geosynchronous orbit. If that orbit is also in the plane of the equator, the satellite will hang in the sky over a fixed location in a geostationary orbit. As predicted in the 1940s by futurist Arthur C. Clarke, geostationary orbits are in common use for communication and weather satellites, a scenario now well-known to astroimagers. Deep images of the night sky made with telescopes that follow the stars can also pick up geostationary satellites glinting in sunlight still shining far above the Earth's surface. Because they all move with the Earth's rotation against the background of stars, the satellites leave trails that seem to follow a highway across the celestial landscape. The phenomenon was captured last month in this video showing several satellites in geostationary orbit crossing the famous Orion Nebula.

Zazzle Space Gifts for young and old

Daily Sun

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Space Science Image of the Week: An image a day of the Sun, taken by the Proba-2 satellite throughout 2016
via ESA Space Science
http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/01/The_Sun_in_2016