Nissan Introduces Terrano SUV in India

October 10, 2013

Nissan_Terrano_SUVNew Delhi, Oct 10: Nissan Motor Co. 7201.TO +2.57% Wednesday introduced its first compact sport-utility vehicle in India to tap demand for such products and challenge existing players like Ford Motor Co. F +0.73% , Renault S.A. RNO.FR +3.70% and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. 500520.BY +1.05%

The Japanese auto maker said it has received about 6,000 customer orders for the Terrano since the vehicle was unveiled in late August. The Terrano is based on the Duster SUV of Renault, with which Nissan has a global alliance. It is produced at a joint plant of Renault and Nissan on the outskirts of Chennai city.

The Duster—which is also made at the same plant—is the most-successful vehicle for Renault in India with sales of more than 60,000 units since its introduction in July last year.

The Terrano is offered in seven versions with the option of either a 1.6-liter gasoline or a 1.5-liter diesel engine. The diesel engine is further offered in two options of 85 horsepower and 104 horsepower.

Prices start at 959,999 rupees ($15,500) at dealers in New Delhi, extending to about 1.24 million rupees for the top-end version.

The Duster starts at 7,99,000 rupees.

"Terrano is an important product for us and will set the pace for future product launches slated for 2014," said Kenichiro Yomura, president of Nissan's India unit. He didn't say which are the other vehicles that Nissan plans to introduce in India.

SUV sales in India grew 52% in the fiscal year ended March 31, compared with a 6.7% decline in the sales of cars.

But, demand has waned since companies raised prices from earlier this year to pass on a three-percentage-point increase in factory tax on locally assembled SUVs to 30%. Rising prices of diesel—the fuel used to run most SUVs in India—also affected demand. Sales of SUVs during the April-to-September period this year fell 4.8%.

The Terrano would compete with models such as Ford's recently introduced EcoSport, Tata Motors Ltd. 500570.BY +1.77% 's Safari Storme, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.'s XUV500 and Scorpio and the Duster.

Nissan expects that the Terrano would help revive its India sales that fell 43% during April-September 2013 to 12,343 vehicles. The introduction of the SUV comes during the festival season in India when the country's majority Hindus consider it auspicious to make new purchases.

The Terrano is the fourth vehicle that Nissan produces in India—it currently manufactures the Micra subcompact hatchback, the Sunny compact car and the Evalia van.

Nissan also assembles the Teana premium sedan from imported parts at the same factory. It also imports the X-Trail SUV and the 370Z sports car in India.

The company plans to start selling the Datsun Go from early 2014. It is the first model in a line of low-cost vehicles developed for emerging markets such as India under its revived Datsun brand.

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Agencies
July 2,2020

Leiden, Jul 2: Astronomers have discovered a luminous galaxy caught in the act of reionizing its surrounding gas only 800 million years after the Big Bang.

The research, led by Romain Meyer, PhD student at UCL in London, UK, has been presented at the virtual annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society (EAS).

Studying the first galaxies that formed 13 billion years ago is essential to understanding our cosmic origins. One of the current hot topics in extragalactic astronomy is 'cosmic reionization,' the process in which the intergalactic gas was ionized (atoms stripped of their electrons).

Cosmic reionization is similar to an unsolved murder: We have clear evidence for it, but who did it, how and when? We now have strong evidence that hydrogen reionization was completed about 13 billion years ago, in the first billion years of the universe, with bubbles of ionized gas slowly growing and overlapping.

The objects capable of creating such ionized hydrogen bubbles have however remained mysterious until now: the discovery of a luminous galaxy in which 60-100 percent of ionizing photons escape, is likely responsible for ionizing its local bubble. This suggests the case is closer to being solved.

The two main suspects for cosmic reionization are usually 1) a population of numerous faint galaxies leaking ~10 percent of their energetic photons, and 2) an 'oligarchy' of luminous galaxies with a much larger percentage (>50 percent) of photons escaping each galaxy.

In either case, these first galaxies were very different from those today: galaxies in the local universe are very inefficient leakers, with only <2-3 percent of ionizing photons escaping their host. To understand which galaxies governed cosmic reionization, astronomers must measure the so-called escape fractions of galaxies in the reionization era.

The detection of light from excited hydrogen atoms (the so-called Lyman-alpha line) can be used to infer the fraction of escaping photons. On the one hand, such detections are rare because reionization-era galaxies are surrounded by neutral gas which absorbs that signature hydrogen emission.

On the other hand, if this hydrogen signal is detected it represents a 'smoking gun' for a large ionized bubble, meaning we have caught a galaxy reionizing its surroundings. The size of the bubble and the galaxy's luminosity determines whether it is solely responsible for creating this ionized bubble or if unseen accomplices are necessary.

The discovery of a luminous galaxy 800 million years after the Big Bang supports the scenario where an 'oligarchy' of bright leakers emits most of the ionizing photons.

"It is the first time we can point to an object responsible for creating an ionized bubble, without the need for a contribution from unseen galaxies.

Additional observations with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope will enable us to study further what is likely one of the best suspects for the unsolved case of cosmic reionization," said Meyer.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Washington D.C: One of the greatest spectacles of modern art is still thriving in the Australian outback as confirmed by satellite imagery of NASA. The Marree Man is a massive geoglyph depicting an aboriginal hunter, that spans over 2.6 miles in the Southern Australian region.

Discovered by a pilot in 1998, its origin still remains a mystery even to this date.

The Marree Man was given a new lease of life in 2016 when a group of people from the neighboring town of Marree plowed its lines to avert its fading due to erosion.

After NASA shared the image of the art-work that was taken in June, the efforts of the good samaritans turned out to be a total success, reported CNN Travel.

The restoration team believes that the refurbished Marree Man would last longer than its original version.

According to NASA, "They [the team] created wind grooves, designed to trap water and encourage the growth of vegetation. They hope that eventually, the man will turn green."

In a previous article, CNN reported that an entrepreneur by the name of Dick Smith took upon himself to unravel the geoglyph's mystery in 2016. His team combed through all the available evidence but couldn't find anything conclusive.

In 2018 he even offered a 5,000 Australian dollar reward for anyone who knows the identity of its creator.

Nobody turned up with an answer but it was speculated that unknown artist lives in Alice Springs or even might be an American.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

New Delhi, Jan 26: Google on Sunday marked India's 71st Republic Day by dedicating a doodle illustrating the country's rich cultural heritage that permeates and unites the diverse nation.

From its world-famous landmarks like the Taj Mahal and India Gate, to the wide array of fauna such as its national bird (the Indian peafowl), to classical arts, textiles, and dances, the doodle, designed by Singapore-based artist Meroo Seth, brings together the rich cultural heritage of the country.

Republic Day marks the completion of India's transition towards becoming an independent republic after its constitution came into effect. The governing document had taken nearly three years of careful deliberation to finalise, and its eventual enactment was joyfully celebrated across the country.

While the Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, it came into effect on January 26 -- a day when Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress back in 1929, as opposed to the Dominion status offered by the British Regime.

Festivities embody the essence of diversity found in one of the world's most populous nations, celebrated over a three-day period with cultural events displaying national pride.

Last year's doodle on Republic Day, designed by artist Reshidev RK, had featured Rashtrapati Bhavan in the background along with a display of the country's iconic monuments and heritage.

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