Nepali first to spot water signs on Mars

A Nepali undergraduate geophysics student at the University of Arizona, USA was the first to spot signs of possible flowing water during the warmer months on Mars that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced through a press conference on Thursday.

Lujendra Ojha, 21, of Mhepi, Kathmandu, who studied at Galaxy Public School till eighth grade before moving to Arizona with his geologist father Dr Tank Ojha five years ago, is co-author of a new study in the journal Science which has suggested possible presence of briny water on the Martian
surface.

“We knew that he was very interested in research work but realized how big he has made it only after the world media queued up to talk to him after the NASA revelation,” said Lujendra´s elder sister Jaika Pathak over the phone from Tucson, Arizona. Born in Kathmandu, Lujendra studied at Adarsha Yoghari School at Lainchour till fourth grade and was an average student while in Nepal, Jaika said.

“But he improved after coming to the US and had topped Arizona state in SAT scores before joining the university,” Jaika, a PhD in entomology, added. Hailing from Hinnekanda, Mahadevsthan in Doti, Dr Tank Ojha was a scientist with the Department of Mines and Geology before leaving for the United States along with his family after landing a job as research scientist at the University of Arizona.

An undergraduate intern at the university´s Department of Planetary Sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Lujendra stumbled upon the discovery while working on an independent project with Professor Alfred McEwen, lead author of the study. University of Arizona researcher Colin Dundas, a collaborator in the study, was interested in gullies on Mars which may be remnants of past water activity, a CNN blog by Elizabeth Landau says, and the researchers were looking for seasonal changes in those gullies.

Scientists announced at the NASA press conference that they had detected dozens of slopes across the southern hemisphere of the planet where previously undetected dark streaks come and go with the seasons. When the planet heats up, the streaks appear and expand downhill. When it gets cold, the streaks disappear.
The Washington Post reported: “The dark streaks were initially noticed by a student at the school in images sent back by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The pixelated images were taken as far back as 2007, but with so much data coming in from space missions, they had remained unstudied. McEwan suggested that the student - geophysics junior Lujendra Ojha - examine over time the locations with streaks, and Ojha found that the streaks changed dramatically by season.”

“Lujendra has been working for me while an undergraduate student, producing digital terrain models for stereo images, and asked for an idea for an independent study. I suggested analyzing stereo pairs acquired months apart in time to look for any changes, and he found these slope flows in one location, that were present in the earlier image, then disappeared,” Professor McEwen told Republica through an email.

“I suggested he look for more of these and he did so and performed various analysis tasks such as extracting temperatures and slope profiles. He has participated in all phases of the study and made very important contributions in addition to the initial discovery,” Professor McEwen acknowledged.

"I was baffled when I first saw those features in the images after I had run them through my algorithm. We soon realized they were different from slope streaks that had been observed before. These are highly seasonal, and we observed some of them had grown by more than 200 meters (650 feet) in a matter of just two Earth months." MSNBC has quoted Lujendra as saying.

McEwen´s team took months of research to figure out what it could be and there should be extensive further research to even prove that this is definitely proof of water. “And from that, we can move on: OK if this is water, what are the chances that life could be in these kinds of surroundings?" the CNN blog quotes him as contemplating.

Lujendra is excited by the new discovery that may well be a significant step in establishing the possibility of life on Mars. "That would be exciting. That´s kind of like the holy grail of science: To find our neighbor, to find life on some other planet," the CNN blog quotes him as saying.

Source: Republica

Nepal storms into semifinal as group winner

Nepal stormed into the semifinal of SAFF U-16 Championship Football Tournament as group B winner on Saturday with 6-0 thumping over Sri Lanka at Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu.

Following the huge margin win, Nepal, which meets India, the runner-up of group A in the semifinal on Monday, is now ahead of Bangladesh on the
basis of goals superiority.

Both Nepal and Bangladesh have equal four points but Nepal has not conceded a single goal and scored six while Bangladesh has scored six and conceded two.

Nepal and Bangladesh had shared points playing a goalless draw and Bangladesh had defeated Sri Lanka 6-2 in their group matches. Bangladesh will now take on group A winner Pakistan in the first semifinal on Monday.

"We have set the target of winning the match by at least a margin of five goals so we began with an attacking strategy," Nepal´s coach Sunil Shrestha said during the post-match conference.

Suman Lama and Rishi Thapa Magar netted a brace each while Rungri Hang Rai and Bishwas Shrestha were also on target in the match hit hard by heavy downpour from the mid of second half.

Nepal achieved the target only once in the first half while netted five goals in 25 minute of the other half. The heavy rainfall interrupted the movement of ball and balance of players, putting a brake on home team´s goal scoring momentum. Nepal scored only one goal following the rainfall.

The match was one-sided from the start to finish with the home team piling up immense pressure. It was a rare scene to see the ball moving around Nepal´s half. Unlike last match against Bangladesh, Nepali players seemed to be a disciplined lot throughout the match and justified the FIFA´s slogan of ´Fair Play.´

Despite making a couple of attacks on target, Nepal had to wait until 15th minute to open the scoring. Lama quickly slammed the ball in after Sri Lankan goalie Abdulla Mohmad Uzman dropped Bishwas Shrestha´s powerful strike from the box. In remaining time of the first half, Lama squandered two other scoring chances and Shrestha was denied by goalie Uzman with a long stretch dive.

Rai tapped in a Thapa Magar´s pass three minutes after the interval to double the scoring. Lama made it 3-0 when he unleashed an unstoppable shot from the edge of box in the 59th minute. Shrestha achieved the target in the 64th with a brilliant display after dribbling around three Sri Lankan players in the box and beating the goalie Uzman.

Thapa Magar scored the fifth and sixth goal in 68th and 70th minute. Thapa Magar netted his first goal from box on a pass from Umesh Thapa set by Shrestha. Thapa Magar netted the last goal out of scuffle near the goal line which entered net deflecting at Sri Lanka defenders leg.

"The wings could not utilize scoring chances and the team was not well set so we failed to score more goals in the first half," Nepal´s coach Shrestha said.

Shrestha´s counterpart Sumith Walpola lauded Nepal as one of the good football playing nations in South Asian. He also expressed dissatisfaction for not stopping the match despite heavy rainfall. "I am surprised how the match was conducted despite no movement of ball in the pitch due to stagnant water," said Walpola adding, "I appealed the match commissioner several times for stopping the match."

Walpola also termed Nepal as a strong side. He also wished Nepal well for upcoming matches. "I hope Nepal will reach final and lift the trophy," Walpola said.

Source: Republica

Nepal avenges Namibia

Nepal has taken a sweet revenge against Namibia with 8 runs victory in the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers on Friday. Nepal had lost a practice match against Namibia by 17 runs ahead of the tournament.

In the match played at Drummond Cricket Club, Northern Ireland, Nepal won the toss and scored 217 runs losing all wickets in 49.4 overs. Nepal restricted Namibia in 209 runs for nine wickets in 50 overs. This is the second best score of Nepal in the ongoing tournament. Nepal had earlier
scored 250 runs against Vanuatu.

Nepal had a good 79 runs opening partnership between Sagar Pun and Subash Khakurel. Khakurel had missed the first three matches due to hamstring injury. He scored 33 runs off 63 balls with four boundaries. Khakurel was the first Nepali batsman to bow out. Another opener Pun was out immediately in the next ball after the fall of Khakurel in the 23rd over. Pun scored 39 runs off 63 balls with five boundaries. Nepal was on 90 for 2 wickets by the end of 23 overs.

Nepal’s middle order did not play well as in the previous matches. Nepal lost two wickets in four balls. Subendu Pandey, who was included in the team instead of regular opener Fajlur Rahman, was out on three runs in the first ball of the 25th over. Nepal suffered another blow as it lost captain Prithu Baskota for duck in the last ball of the 25th over.

Attacking batsman Pradeep Airee and defensive batsman Naresh Budhaayer guided the team to a defendable score. These two batsmen had the partnership of 79 runs in 15.5 overs. Airee was out scoring 33 runs off 50 balls with a huge six. After the fall of Airee in the 41.5th overs, Nepal continued to lose other wickets at regular intervals. Rajesh Pulami (5) was the next batsman to be out in the 44th over.

Rahul BK who came in support for Budhaayer was short to the crease in his personal one run. Budhaayer also gave away his wicket in the 47th over after completing half century. He scored 51 runs off 82 balls with four boundaries. Nepal had scored 205 runs by the end of the 47th over.

Nepal lost its last two wickets for 12 runs. Krishna Karki (8) was the other batsman to be removed from the crease while Bhuwan Karki (9) was the last batsman. Nepal received 34 runs in extras in which 27 runs were from wide.

Christopher Coombe was the most successful bowler for Namibia as he took six wickets in his 9.5 overs conceding 41 runs. Skipper Stephen Baard grabbed two wickets while Pieter Groenewald took one.

Chasing the total of 218, Namibia did not start well. Left-arm fast bowler Avinash Karna took two wickets in the first over. Karna sent Justin Baard (0) in the first ball and Groenewald (0) in the same over. Another pace bowler Krishna Karki sent Baard (4) when Namibia had 11 runs on board.

Spinner Rahul BK caught Gert Lotter (8) in his own ball. Wian Van Vuuren, who was playing well, was short to the crease in a direct hit by Rajesh Pulami. Namibia lost its five wickets in 17 overs with 43 runs on board. MG Erasmus and Coombe had a good partnership to guide the team from 43/5 to 121/6. The partnership of 78 runs nearly guided Namibia toward the win.

Baskota broke the partnership as he trapped Coombe LBW on his personal 44 runs off 73 balls. Erasmus was the highest scorer of the match as he scored 63 runs off 77 balls. Shalako Groenewald scored 44 runs doff 35 balls.

Rahul BK and Bhuwan Karki were punished in the 45th and 46th over by the Namibian batsmen. They both gave away 35 runs in two overs. Shalako Groenewald fell in the 47th over giving Nepal the taste of the victory.

Namibia lost its three wickets for 23 runs. Krishna Karki was the successful bowler for Nepal as he took three wickets. Avinash Karna grabbed two wickets while Rahul BK, Prithu Baskota and Pradeep Airee share a wicket each.

Nepal Vs Namibia Live Score

10 Things we are Proud of NEPAL

1. Mt. Everest, the peak of the world.

2. Hydro-Power, world’s second richest country (83000 MW)

3. World’s best bio-diversity.

4. Pashupatinath, world’s renowned Hindu temple.

5. Lumbini, Birthplace of Buddha, and world heritage site.

6. Eight highest mountains of the world out of ten.

7. Chitwan National Park, the World Heritage Site.

8. World’s youngest Republic.

9. Asia’s highest bungee jumping.

10. “Pokhara, one of the world’s most beautiful cities (city with seven lakes)”

Nepal to take on Canada

Nepal is all set to take on Canada on Wednesday in its fifth ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers match at the Bready Cricket Club in Northen Ireland.

Nepal had earlier met Canada in the 2002 U-19 World Cup held in New
Zeland, registering a nine-wicket victory.

Binod Das and Sanjam Regmi had taken three wickets each restricting Canada to 102 runs. Nepal crossed the target in 22.3 overs losing only one wicket. Yeshwant Subedi was not out with 40 runs while Bardan Chalise had scored 32 runs.

In the current U-19 world cup qualifiers, Nepal has lost only one match against Scotland while Canada has lost two matches. Canada suffered defeat at the hands of Namibia by three wickets while Kenya also beat Canada by 15 runs. In other matches, Canada defeated Scotland by six runs while it registered a nine-wicket victory against Vanuatu.

Meanwhile, Nepal had registered a 42-run victory over Afghanistan in the opening match of the tournament but lost the second match against Scotland by 57 runs. Nepal then defeated Kenya by six wickets and Vanuatu by an impressive 159 runs.

Nepal is at the top of the points table with six points after registering three wins while Canada is in the fifth position.

Nepal´s coach Jagat Tamata is confident of winning the match against Canada. Speaking over phone to Republica, coach Tamata added that the team will be playing in a new pitch so he will not take any risks and field the best players. “Players have a high morale with three wins from four matches and are ready to continue the good form in the match against Canada,” he said.

Subash Khakurel who suffered a hamstring injury during the match against Kenya is still unsure to play against Canada. Coach Tamata said that doctors are yet to clear Khakurel to play.

U19 CWC Qualifier Points Table

ICC U19 CWC Qualifiers 2011

Team P W L T N/R Pts NRR Nepal Under-19s 4 3 1 0 0 6 1.331 Namibia Under-19s 4 3 1 0 0 6 0.906 Scotland Under-19s 4 3 1 0 0 6 0.405 Ireland Under-19s 4 3 1 0 0 6 0.064 Canada Under-19s 4 2 2 0 0 4 0.557 United States of America Under-19s 4 2 2 0 0 4 0.223 Kenya Under-19s 4 2 2 0 0 4 0.088 Afghanistan Under-19s 4 1 3 0 0 2 -0.087 Papua New Guinea Under-19s 4 1 3 0 0 2 -0.79 Vanuatu Under-19s 4 0 4 0 0 0 -3.013
Source: myrepublica.com

Nepal beats Vanuatu by 159 runs

Nepal registered a comprehensive 159 run win over Vanuatu in the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers at the YMCA Ground, Dublin, Ireland on Monday.

Winning the toss, Nepal opted to bat first and scored 250 runs losing all the wickets in 49.3 overs. Nepal restricted Vanuatu in just 91 runs off 30.5 overs. With the win Nepal has made its chance strong to qualify for the World Cup.

Sagar Pun and Naresh Budhaayer both completed half centuries creating a base for the total. Pun was run out in 21.5 over while Budhayer was out in the first ball of 30th over.

Nepal did not have a good start as the first wicket fell when the score was 27 runs on board. Fajlur Rahman was out in 5.2 over for five runs. After the fall of Rahman, Budhaayer and Pun built a 76-run partnership to guide the team to 103 runs before Pun was out.

Pun was short to the crease after smacking a four to complete his half century. He faced 66 balls for his 51 runs innings that included eight boundaries. After the fall of Pun, Nepal did not have a good partnership. Budhaayer was the next batsman to be sent back to the pavilion.

Budhaayer scooped the ball over the bowlers head to the mid-off region but was caught. He scored 50 runs off 81 balls.

After the fall of Budhaayer in the 30th over, Nepal continued to lose its wickets at regular interval. Skipper Prithu Baskota was the first to go as the total score of Nepal was 151 runs on board in the 33rd over. Baskota gave away his wicket for a personal score of 18 runs.

Nepal lost another two wickets for just two balls. Pradeep Airee was next to move back to the pavilion. Airee scored 11 runs off 11 balls.

Nepal lost its sixth with Subendu Pandey trapped for leg before wicket on 14 runs. Pandey, who was playing his first match in the tournament replacing Subash Khakurel, faced 18 balls before being out. In the next two overs, Nepal lost another of its two wickets. Krishna Karki and Abhinash Karna were both sent back to the pavilion for duck with total 176 runs on board.

Rajesh Pulami and Bhuwan Karki had the partnership of 46 runs guiding the team to a respectable total. Pulami was out in 45.2 overs on his personal score of 23 runs off 32 balls. Rahul BK who scored 14 runs with two boundaries was the last wicket of Nepal to fall. Bhuwan Karki was not out for 20 runs off 30 balls.

Nepal received 44 runs as extras of which 34 runs came from wide balls. Shem Sala was the successful bowler for Vanuatu as he took three wickets in his nine over spell conceding 49 runs.

As in the earlier games, Nepali bowlers dominated the game to restrict Vanuatu for a low total. Vanuatu lost its first wicket with 16 runs on board. Krishna Karki gave a breakthrough to Nepal as he bowled out Callum Blake on duck.

Black had faced 19 balls before he went back to the pavilion. Karki showed Kendy Kennet (3) the way to pavilion in his next over. Karki was at his best as he again grabbed the wicket of Ronald Tari on duck. Opener Jaxies Samuel (13) was also trapped LBW in the ball of Bhuwan Karki.

Patrick Mautautaava, who scored 13 runs off 20 balls, gave away his wicket when the total was 40 runs on board. With the fall of Mautautaava, Vanuatu continued to lose wickets. Worford Kalwori, Jelany Chili and Jamal Ngwango were shown the way to pavilion by Rahul BK.

All three batsmen were out on duck as the total was 53 runs on board. Apolinaire Stephen (1) was the fourth victim of BK. Nalin Nipiko was not out on the crease for 36 runs off 62 balls.

Nepal beats Kenya by 6 wickets

Nepal beats Kenya by six wickets in the ICC U-19 World Cup qualifiers in Dublin, Ireland on Sunday with more than 30 overs remaining.

Nepal chased Kenya’s 107 in 19.2 overs with captain Prithu Baskota topscoring with 31 not out. Earlier, man of the match Avinash Karn and Krishna Karki each grabbed three wickets to bowl out Kenya for a lowly total.
Electing to field first, Nepal began well with two pacers bowling splendidly. Kenya was 35/6 in 13 overs. It seemed the team that won both of its earlier matches won’t reach 100, but sensible 40 from I Karim took them a respectable total.

Spinners Bhuwan Karki and Rahul Vishwokarma took two each to end Kenya innings in 48.5 overs.

In reply, D Allan took 3 wickets in 3 overs to put Kenya back into game, but some wayward bowling by his teammates and sensible batting from Nepali batsmen put them on bay.

Allan finished with 4/38 in his 8 overs before Nepal raced to an easy victory. Apart from Prithu, Naresh Budayer (18), Subash Khakurel and Pradeep Airee (both 12) scored for Nepal.

It was Nepal’s second win in three matches and will meet Vanuatu on Monday at YMCA Ground.