New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) The European Space Agency (ESA) on Thursday released five unprecedented new views of the Universe from the dark universe probing the Euclid space mission.

The early observations, published in a series of 10 scientific papers, comes at the back of the first full-colour images of the cosmos released by the space telescope in November 2023.

The images showcase Euclid’s ability to probe the secrets of the cosmos and help scientists “hunt for rogue planets, use lensed galaxies to study mysterious matter, and explore the evolution of the Universe”, said the ESA, which launched the telescope, in July 2023.

Valeria Pettorino, ESA’s Euclid Project Scientist, called it “an important milestone”, and “impressively diverse in terms of the objects and distances observed”.

The new images target 17 astronomical objects, from nearby clouds of gas and dust to distant clusters of galaxies.

Taken in just 24 hours, the telescope captured more than 11 million objects in visible light and 5 million more in infrared light.

“They give just a hint of what Euclid can do. We are looking forward to six more years of data to come!” Valeria said.

The findings also showcase Euclid’s ability to search free-floating new-born planets, extragalactic star clusters, low-mass dwarf galaxies in a nearby galaxy cluster, the distribution of dark matter, and intra-cluster light in galaxy clusters.

It also shows distant bright galaxies belonging to the first billion years of the Universe.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) With 75 per cent of all ‘Credit Cards (CC) on UPI’ transactions happening at small merchants, a new report on Thursday said that UPI (Unified Payments Interface) integration has fuelled growth in RuPay credit cards.

According to the credit-on-UPI platform Kiwi, the adoption of ‘Credit Cards on UPI’ was highest among young adults below 40.

CC on UPI has become the primary mode of payment, with users spending over Rs 22,000 every month.

The average number of transactions using a CC on UPI is 21 per month, which is four times that of a traditional physical credit card.

“RuPay Credit Cards’ market share has grown from 3 per cent in FY23 to 10 per cent in FY24. This success can be largely attributed to UPI’s success,” said Kiwi Co-founder Mohit Bedi.

“The concept of virtual credit cards has picked up exponentially. Nearly 20 out of every 100 credit cards being issued in the country are virtual credit cards,” he added.

According to the report, the average transaction size for CC on UPI users is Rs 1,125, lower than traditional credit card transactions, which average around Rs 4,000.

Additionally, the report showed that grocery and Kirana stores were frontrunners in embracing CC on UPI (constituting 33 per cent of total usage), followed by apparel and electronics (15 per cent) and food and dining (7 per cent).

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Honasa Consumer Ltd, the parent company of Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh-led Mamaearth, on Thursday reported quarterly profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 30 crore for the January-March quarter this year.

For the full fiscal year (FY24), Honasa delivered PAT of Rs 111 crore and 7.1 per cent EBITDA growth.

The company said it witnessed revenue from operations grow for the quarter at 21.5 per cent (year-on-year) and 28.6 per cent for the full fiscal year.

“Mamaearth’s unwavering popularity among consumers has been a key driver of our continued success, while The Derma Co’s is catching up and has recently achieved an annual run rate (ARR) of more than Rs 500 crore, highlighting our ability to craft and scale new-age beauty brands,” said Varun Alagh.

The consolidated revenue for Q4 FY24 stood at Rs 471 crore.

New products accounted for around 18 per cent of revenue from operations in FY24.

As per Honasa’s internal estimates, its products command more than 30 per cent market-share in most online channels in sunscreens.

Addressing the ever-evolving consumer needs, Mamaearth has entered into the personal wash segment with a goal to capture a portion of the Rs 25,000 crore personal wash market.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Automaker Kia on Thursday revealed its new all-electric SUV — EV3, globally, offering a driving range of up to 600 km and 10 to 80 per cent battery charging in 31 minutes.

According to the company, the new EV SUV will be introduced first in South Korea in July this year, followed by its European launch in the second half of the year.

The company also plans to further expand the sales of EV3 into other regions, with subsequent launches to be expected after the European market entry.

“The EV3 aims to extend Kia’s exceptional EV SUV experience to a wider audience. With a WLTP driving range of up to 600 km and fast-charging capability, the EV3 addresses common concerns about electric vehicles,” Ho Sung Song, President and CEO at Kia, said in a statement.

Kia offers the EV3 in nine body colours — two of which have been created exclusively for the new model — Aventurine Green and Terracotta.

The EV3 measures 4,300mm long, 1,850mm wide, 1,560mm high and has a wheelbase of 2,680mm. It features a front-wheel-drive electric powertrain based on the Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), utilising Kia’s fourth-generation battery technology.

The EV3 Standard model is offered exclusively with a 58.3kWh battery, while the EV3 Long Range variant is fitted with an 81.4kWh battery.

“With the EV3, Kia has redefined the EV SUV segment to create a compact model that is comprehensively equipped with innovative technology and features,” said Spencer Cho, VP and Head of Global Business Planning.

Both models utilise a 150kW/283Nm electric motor, which enables a 0-100 kmph acceleration time of 7.5 seconds.

The EV3’s maximum speed is 170 kmph, the automaker mentioned.

–IANS

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New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) A massive outage on Thursday affected several Microsoft services such as Bing Search, Copilot, ChatGPT and more globally, including India.

Users turned to social media to report the outage, which also impacted third-party services such as search engine DuckDuckGo which relies on Microsoft’s infrastructure.

Users from India have also reported issues accessing these sites.

As per outage tracking website Downdetector, about 57 per cent of people reported problems accessing the Bing website, 34 per cent reported issues with the search, and 9 per cent with login.

In India, users in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai are majorly facing issues with Microsoft services.

“It’s not just you: Microsoft’s services are down in some regions. #Bing is down, #Copilot/Copilot in Windows is down. DuckDuckGo is not working because it uses Bing. Similarly, ChatGPT’s internet search is also down,” a user posted on X.

“Microsoft Copilot and Bing Down: Users Encounter Connection Errors,” another user wrote.

One more user said, “Anyone else having problems with Bing? I keep getting this today.”

Microsoft has not officially commented on the situation, however, it appears that the majority of the services have been restored and are now available to users worldwide.

–IANS

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