17th Sept Daily current affairs for UPSC Civil Service Exam

Black Planet

• Astronomers have discovered a black planet using hubble space telescope.
• It is formally called as WASP-12b, an exoplanet that reflects almost no light, making it appear essentially pitch black.
• It orbits its parent star WASP-12A, about 1400 light year away.
• Its albedo is 0.064, whereas the albedo of earth is 0.3 and moon is 0.12.
• It is categorized as a hot Jupiter since its radius almost twice that of Jupiter and a year of just over one Earth day.
• Albedo – Fraction of light falling on a surface that is reflected.
• Exoplanet – A Planet that orbits a star other than a sun.

Global Burden of Disease Study – 2016

• Recent global burden of disease study – 2016 report has put forth comprehensive data on the leading causes of deaths in India.
• According to the report, cardiovascular disease was the leading killer in 2016 followed by Diarrhoea, lower respiratory and infectious diseases being the 2nd cause.
• In India and world over, lifestyle diseases have increased, while deaths due to curable diseases have come down because of better medical care.
• Nearly 72% of all deaths in 2016 were from non-communicable diseases.
• The report also highlighted that smoking and poor diet remains leading risk factors of ill health.

ATAGS

• Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) is a indigenous artillery gun which has set a new world record in range by hitting targets at a distance of 48 km.
• It is being jointly developed by the DRDO and the private sector.
• The development is being done through a consortium based model, similar to that adopted for the pinaka multi-barrel rocket launch system.
• The Army has not inducted any new artillery gun since the Bofors in the 1980's.
• Last year, India signed a contract for 145 M-777 Ultra-Light Howitzers from the US.

Gharial Exchange Programme

Bangladesh Forest Department and IUCN have piloted the first ever gharial exchange programme to initiate the captive breeding of the species in Bangladesh.

• The gharial is a crocodilian of the family Gavialidae, native to the northern part of the Indian Subcontinent.
• It is listed as “Critically Endangered” in the IUCN red list.
• The gharial is one of three crocodilians native to India, the other two being the mugger crocodile and the saltwater crocodile.

Source: The Hindu