Syllabus Connection: GS Paper III (Science & Technology - Space)
Contemporary News Pivot
Indian astronomers Rashi Jain and Yogesh Wadadekar (NCRA-TIFR, Pune) discovered a spiral galaxy named Alaknanda using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Located 12 billion light-years away, it existed when the universe was only 1.5 billion years old.
Scientific Significance
- Challenging the "Chaos" Model: Traditional cosmological models suggested that early galaxies (from the first 2 billion years) were chaotic, hot, and irregular. Alaknanda, with its two well-defined spiral arms and central bulge, proves that mature structures formed much faster than previously thought.
- Stellar Productivity: Alaknanda is a "Star-Forming Factory," creating stars at a rate of 63 solar masses per year—roughly 30 times faster than our Milky Way.
- Symbolic Naming: The name follows the tradition of naming astronomical bodies after Indian rivers. Since the Milky Way is called Mandakini in Sanskrit, and the Alaknanda and Mandakini are sister rivers in the Himalayas, the name highlights its resemblance to a "sister" of our own galaxy.
IAS-2026 - OPTIONAL / GEOGRAPHY / PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION / SOCIOLOGY / ANTHROPOLOGY / ORIENTATION ON 03 & 04-10-2025 
