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Sky enthusiasts gear up to watch eclipse of super blue blood moon

TNN
January 31, 2018

New Delhi, Jan 31: Sky lovers are excited for the extraterrestrial triple treat to be witnessed in the sky today.

A super blue blood moon will be eclipsed on Wednesday from 6 PM to 9:30 PM at various locations across the country.

Sky enthusiasts have taken out their telescopes and booked a cosy place on their terrace or garden to watch the celestial spectacle.

If you want to see the whole event unfold, you should be away from tall buildings, bright lights, trees, things like that. You should have a clear view of the skies.

Lunar eclipse can be watched with naked eyes unlike solar eclipse.

This total lunar eclipse is special for three reasons: It's the third in a series of "supermoons" when the Moon will be just a day past perigee which is the closest point to Earth in it's orbit, making it appear very large and bright ; 2) It is about 14 percent bigger than usual and appearing 30 per cent brighter 3) It's the second full moon of the month, commonly known as a "blue moon". A supermoon is a particularly close full or new moon

While the Moon is in the Earth's shadow it will take on a reddish tint, known as a "blood moon."

There hasn't been a triple lineup like this since 1982, and the next won't occur until 2037.

As far as India is concerned, in 1982 on December 30, there was a lunar eclipse. Also it was second full moon of December 1982. i.e. Lunar Eclipse on Blue Moon in India occurred in 1982, said Sri N Raghunandan Kumar, Director & Founder Secretary of Planetary Society of India, Hyderabad.

The moon will rise in Delhi at 5:53:48 PM, while the partial eclipse will begin at 5:21:00 PM ( when the moon will be below horizon).The

total eclipse phase will begin at 6:21:47 PM and end at 7:37:51 PM.

The maximum eclipse will at 6:59:51 PM.

Places in north eastern states like Agartala, Aizawl, Cooch Bihar, Darjeeling, Dibrugarh, Gangtok, Guwahati, Imphal, Itanagar, Kohima, Kolkatta, Murshidabad, Shillong, Silchar, Silguri and Port Blair will appreciate all visible phases of the lunar eclipse.

The last time a lunar eclipse was visible in India occurred on August 7, 2017 which, however, was partial lunar eclipse.

And, the last time the "Blue Moon" occurred was in 2015 i.e. in July (2nd July 2015 & 31st July).

This year is astronomically very interesting as after 20 years we will have two Blue Moons in a calendar year i.e. January ( 2nd Jan & 31 Jan) 2018 and March (1st March and 31st March) 2018.

While amateur skywatchers catch the show, scientists across the world will watch the dramatic impact of the eclipse on the moon's surface— its temperature will drop as it passes into shadow.

SPACE India, an NGO which works to promote scientific temperament among children, will conduct an observation with telescopes at India Gate to promote public outreach on the night of January 31 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM. Educators will provide views of the Eclipsed Moon and elucidate the phases to people.

The NGO will also dispel myths about the chandra grahan among people.

Across the world this eclipse will be visible in the region covering North America except eastern part, Oceania, Russia, Asia, Middle East, northern Scandanavia and eastern Europe.

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News Network
March 24,2020

Kochi, Mar 24: Long queues were witnessed in front of state beverages corporation outlets across Kerala on Tuesday despite the statewide lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

As tipplers thronged the outlets unmindful of the curfew, officials asked them to ensure that they kept a one metre distance between them as part of preventive steps to check the COVID-19 transmission.

Official sources said precautionary measures have been taken at the beverages outlets to prevent the virus spread.

Only those wearing masks were allowed to stand in queues, the sources said.

Police were deployed to ensure that the people standing in queues keep a one metre distance between them, they added.

The opposition Congress slammed the CPI(M)-led LDF government for not taking steps to restrict crowds in front of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) outlets, apprehending that such a situation would pave way for spreading the virus.

Ernakulam district congress committee general secretary Sherin Varghese claimed if the government had implemented a 2017 Kerala high court order directing the beverages corporation to take remedial steps to end long queues in front of the outlets, such a situation would not have arisen.

"Had the beverages corporation complied with the court order, safety and security of persons standing in queues could have been ensured.

Now there is no protective measure to prevent the possible transmission of the coronavirus from a carrier to another person," he told PTI.

Meanwhile, the state government has directed that adequate distance be kept between people standing in queues.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday justified the decision to keep the liquor shops open citing the "peculiar" situation prevailing in the state.

Kerala is in a total lockdown since Monday midnight till March 31 to check the virus spread.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given nod to the Serum Institute of India (SII) for conducting phase 2 and 3 human clinical trials of the Oxford University developed Covid-19 vaccine candidate in the country.

Government officials said that the approval for conducting phase 2 and 3 clinical trials by the SII was granted by DCGI Dr V G Somani late Sunday night after a thorough evaluation based on the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on Covid-19.

"The firm has to submit safety data, evaluated by the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), to the CDSCO before proceeding to phase 3 clinical trials," a senior official said.

"As per the study design, each subject will be administered two doses four weeks apart (first dose on day one and second dose on day 29) following which the safety and immunogenicity will be assessed at predefined intervals," the official said.

As a rapid regulatory response, the expert panel at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on Friday, after a detailed deliberation and considering the data generated on the vaccine candidate in phase 1 and 2 of the Oxford University trial, had recommended granting permission for phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the potential vaccine, 'Covishield', on healthy adults in India,  the officials said.

Currently, phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate is going on in the United Kingdom, phase 3 clinical trial in Brazil and phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in South Africa.

The officials said that the SII had submitted a revised proposal on Wednesday after the SEC on July 28, following deliberation over its application, had asked it to revise its protocol for the phase 2 and 3 clinical trials besides seeking some additional information.

The panel had also recommended that the clinical trial sites which have been proposed for the study be distributed across India.

According to the revised proposal by the SII, 1,600 people aged above 18 years will participate in the trials across 17 selected sites, including AIIMS-Delhi, B J Medical College in Pune, Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS) in Patna, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, AIIMS-Jodhpur, Nehru Hospital in Gorakhpur, Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam and JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research in Mysore.

"According to the application, it would conduct an observer-blind, randomised controlled study to determine the safety and immunogenicity of 'Covishield' on healthy Indian adults," the official said.

The SII, which has partnered with AstraZeneca, for manufacturing the Oxford vaccine candidate for Covid-19 had submitted its first application to the DCGI on July 25 seeking permission for conducting the phase 2 and 3 trials of the potential vaccine. 

Initial results of the first two-phases of trials of the vaccine conducted in five trial sites in the UK showed that it has an acceptable safety profile and homologous boosting increased antibody response, sources had said.

To introduce the vaccine, SII, the world's largest vaccine maker by number of doses produced and sold, has signed an agreement to manufacture the potential vaccine developed by the Jenner Institute (Oxford University) in collaboration with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca. 

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News Network
May 23,2020

New Delhi, May 23: On the occasion of Jumat-ul-Vida, the last Friday of the ongoing holy month of Ramzan, a select group of people offered namaz at Delhi's Jama Masjid ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, while adhering to social distancing following relaxations in the fourth phase of the COVID-19 lockdown.

"A large number of people wanted to offer prayers today but we told them they should do so from their homes. Only the staff of the mosque and a few members of the family offered prayers here," Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid said.

The coronavirus pandemic has also marred the excitement of Eid for the vegetable and fruit vendors in neighbouring Daryaganj.

The fourth phase of nation-wide lockdown extended till May 31, began from Monday in which markets and shops were allowed to open. However, due to persisting fear of COVID-19, the sale of products is yet to pick pace.

Unlike each year, the market lacks the sheen this Eid with no bustle and people cautious about venturing out.

Salim, who has been selling cheese and curd in the market for the last 35 years, told ANI, "I have never seen such an Eid. There is an atmosphere of fear in the minds of people."

Another fruit seller Haseen Malik said that "During the month of Ramadan, most people relish fruits such as musk melon, sweet lemon and watermelon so there is some demand for it. But there is no excitement for Eid this year. The sale has been at an all-time low because of the lockdown."

In the wake of the festival and to ensure social distancing, Delhi Police has made elaborate security arrangements. 

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