First science result from Aditya L1
Context
India’s space mission, Aditya-L1, launched by ISRO in September 2023, has yielded its first scientific finding.
Relevance:
GS-03 (Science and technology)
Background:
- This groundbreaking mission, India’s first to focus solely on solar studies, made significant headway in understanding coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
- Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are huge bubbles of coronal plasma threaded by intense magnetic field lines that are ejected from the Sun over the course of several hours. CMEs often look like huge, twisted rope, which scientists call “flux rope.”
- Using data from the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), an instrument designed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIAp) in Bengaluru, scientists accurately predicted the onset time of a CME on July 16.
- This accomplishment is a promising leap towards understanding these solar eruptions and their impacts on Earth.
Key Highlights of the Entire Article
- Aditya-L1 Mission’s Goal: India’s first solar study mission, Aditya-L1, is dedicated to investigating the sun’s activities, focusing on violent solar events like coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
- First Scientific Result: Scientists from IIAp successfully identified the start time of a CME, a powerful solar eruption that can disrupt Earth’s communication and satellite systems.
- VELC’s Role in Prediction: The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), a key instrument aboard Aditya-L1, enables close monitoring of CMEs from their origin, offering insights into their thermodynamic properties.
- Collaboration and Development: VELC was developed by a team of scientists from IIAp, who have emphasised the importance of continuously tracking solar activities to prevent potential disruptions on Earth.
- Implications for Earth: CMEs, when directed towards Earth, can damage satellite electronics and disrupt radio communications, highlighting the importance of accurate solar activity predictions.
- Publication: The findings are set to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, authored by scientists from IIAp, including R. Ramesh and Jagdev Singh.
Way Forward
- The successful prediction of CME onset times showcases the capability of the Aditya-L1 mission to advance solar science. Continuous monitoring of the sun by VELC could lead to better prediction models for CMEs, which in turn would help mitigate their impacts on Earth’s infrastructure.
- Moving forward, the Aditya-L1 mission’s data can assist in building robust early warning systems and enrich our understanding of solar phenomena.
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