CURRENT AFFAIR 2013

                                          

China became the World's Fifth-Largest Arms Exporter

A Swedish think tank, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in the Month of March 2013 mentioned China as the world's fifth largest arms exporter.

The reason of China Being top most arms exporter is evident from the fact that the volume of Chinese weapons exports rose by 162 percent in the five years 2008-2012, compared to the previous five-year period.

Earlier the country was eighth in ranking and it climbed to fifth with an increase in international arms exports from 2 percent to 5 percent.

The report also revealed that the largest buyer of Chinese weapons was Pakistan, which accounted for 55 percent of the country's exports, followed by Myanmar with 8 percent and Bangladesh with 7 percent.

 A number of recent deals indicate that China is establishing itself as a significant arms supplier to a growing number of important recipient states. Such deals include the sale of three frigates to Algeria, eight transport aircraft to Venezuela and 54 tanks to Morocco.

The US with 30 percent of global export volume remains the world's top arms exporter during the 2008-2012 periods. Russia stands in Second Position with 26 percent export while at third and fourth is Germany and France with 7 and 6 percent export volume.

Another major evident as per the report is that Asia dominated the global imports of weapons, with the top five importers all located in that region.

The top 5 arms importers in 2008-2012 (share of international imports)

1. India -12 percent

2. China - 6 percent

3. Pakistan - 5 percent

4. South Korea -5 percent

5. Singapore -4 percent

NASA’s Swift Satellite Discovered one of the Youngest-known Supernova Remnants

 NASA's Swift satellite in the Month of March 2013 discovered one of the youngest-known supernova remnants which is believed to be less than 2500 years old - in our Milky Way galaxy.

The Supernova Remnants were discovered while performing an extensive X-ray survey of our galaxy's central region. Looking after the coordinates of its sky position it has been designated G306.3-0.9.

As per the analysis by the scientist it was indicated that G306.3-0.9 is likely less than 2500 years old, making it one of the 20 youngest remnants identified.

It has been estimated that Astronomers have previously catalogued more than 300 supernova remnants in the galaxy.

To further investigate the object, the team followed up with an 83-minute exposure using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and additional radio observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), located near the town of Narrabri in New South Wales.

Using an estimated distance of 26,000 light-years for G306.3-0.9, the scientists determined that the explosion’s shock wave is racing through space at about 2.4 million km/h.

The Chandra observations reveal the presence of iron, neon, silicon and sulfur at temperatures exceeding 28 million C, a reminder not only of the energies involved but of the role supernovae play in seeding the galaxy with heavy elements produced in the hearts of massive stars

About Supernova Explosion

A supernova explosion occurs once or twice a century in the Milky Way. The expanding blast wave and hot stellar debris slowly dissipate over hundreds of thousands of years, eventually mixing with and becoming indistinguishable from interstellar gas.

Earlier in 2011, Swift imaged a survey field near the southern border of the constellation Centaurus. Although nothing unusual appeared in the ultraviolet exposure, the X-ray image revealed an extended, semi-circular source reminiscent of a supernova remnant.

A search of archival data revealed counterparts in Spitzer infrared imagery and in radio data from the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope in Australia.