NGC 5128, better known as Centaurus A, is one of the nearest giant galaxies to the Milky Way, lying about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. Its unusual appearance is the lasting scar of a cosmic collision: a large elliptical galaxy that swallowed a smaller, gas-rich spiral.
The merger left a thick, warped lane of dust cutting across the bright stellar body. Ultraviolet images highlight the youngest, hottest stars that formed when the collision compressed gas along that dusty disk. Behind the dark filaments, the older yellow-orange glow of the original elliptical’s stars still shines through.
Centaurus A is also an active galaxy. A supermassive black hole at its center launches jets that stretch far beyond the optical disk and produce one of the brightest radio sources in the sky. Shells and streams in the outer halo are additional leftovers of the encounter, evidence that galaxies keep changing long after the main collision ends.
What looks like a single peculiar galaxy is therefore the aftermath of two systems becoming one.
Spiral galaxy M83, shining 15 million light-years away!
It is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Hydra.
🔭 You can spot it even with 10x50 binoculars—it will appear as a glowing patch. A telescope with a 150mm aperture allows you to make out the galaxy's dark patches, while a 250mm aperture lets you examine its spiral structure and dark dust lanes.
Odisha is blessed with nearly 44% of India’s mineral wealth. This wealth is not merely buried beneath our soil it is the inheritance of our people and our future generations.
The implications of the MMDR Amendment therefore raise serious concerns for Odisha. The issue is not just about revenue. It is about what that revenue could build for our people better schools, stronger hospitals, irrigation for our farmers, modern infrastructure and employment opportunities for our youth.
When Odisha’s resources are extracted, it is our land that bears the burden, our environment that faces the consequences and our communities that live with the impact. Odisha must therefore have a strong voice in determining how the benefits from these resources are used.
Most concerning is the silence of Odisha’s 20 BJP MPs when an issue of such importance to the State came before Parliament.
Odia Asmita cannot be reduced to an election slogan. It must mean standing up for Odisha when its rights, resources and future are at stake.
Political differences may exist, but when it comes to Odisha and the future of our generations, Odisha must always come first.
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Change was promised. But at what cost to Odisha?
In June 2024, a new government took oath promising to protect Odisha’s interests and uphold Odia Asmita. Odisha also sent 20 BJP MPs to Parliament with the expectation that when the interests of our State were at stake, they would be its strongest voice.
But when the MMDR Amendment was passed in Parliament, where was that voice?
Odisha is blessed with extraordinary mineral wealth. These resources are not merely numbers on a balance sheet. They belong to the people of Odisha and, equally, to generations yet to come. Since minerals are finite and non-renewable, every rupee generated from them carries a responsibility to build better schools, hospitals, irrigation systems, infrastructure, industries and opportunities that will endure long after the minerals are exhausted.
That is why the implications of the MMDR Amendment are so serious.
It raises fundamental concerns over the constitutional and financial rights of mineral-rich States like Odisha. For Odisha, the consequences are not merely about revenue. They are about what that revenue could have created better healthcare for our families, quality education for our children, irrigation for our farmers, world-class infrastructure and employment opportunities for our youth.
And yet, Odisha’s 20 BJP MPs remained silent when this crucial issue concerning our State was before Parliament.
Silence at such a moment is not representation.
For 24 years, Shri Naveen Patnaik ji consistently stood up for Odisha’s interests, irrespective of which political party governed at the Centre. Odisha’s rights were never something to be surrendered for political convenience.
Today, the question before us goes far beyond the BJP or BJD.
If Odisha bears the environmental burden of mining, if our communities face displacement, if our land and natural resources are being exhausted, then Odisha must have a meaningful voice and constitutional authority in deciding how the benefits of those resources are used for its people.
What happened to the promise of a “Double Engine Sarkar” if Odisha has to become increasingly dependent on decisions taken elsewhere regarding its own resources?
Odia Asmita cannot remain just a slogan used during elections. It must mean standing up for Odisha when Odisha’s rights, resources and future are at stake.
Odisha was created as a separate State after a historic struggle by generations who wanted its people to have their own voice and the ability to shape their own destiny. We owe it to them and to the generations that will come after us to safeguard that right.
Political differences will always exist. But Odisha must come first.
When it comes to the rights, resources and future of Odisha, we must speak with one voice and stand united.
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