Who is he?

• Thanu Padmanabhan is an Indian astrophysicist who tweaked Albert Einstein’s theory of gravitation to explain dark energy. Prof Thanu Padmanabhan was also honoured with a Padma Shri.
  • Dark energy is the name given to the mysterious force that’s causing the rate of expansion of our universe to accelerate over time, rather than to slow down. Roughly 68% of the universe is dark energy. Dark matter makes up about 27%. The rest, as in, everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal matter  adds up to less than 5% of the universe. 
  • Einstein’s theory of relativity is a gravity theory that   proposes that, instead of being an invisible force that attracts objects to one another, gravity is a curving or warping of space. The more massive an object, the more it warps the space around it.

Why in News?

• Renowned physicist and professor at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Thanu Padmanabhan passed away recently.

 References:

1. https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/indian-astrophysicist-and-teacher-passes-away-at-64/cid/1831152
2. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/renowned-astrophysicist-thanu-padmanabhan-passes-away/article36513555.ece
3. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/theoretical-physicist-thanu-padmanabhan-passes-away-in-pune-7514922/