04th November 2024 (12 Topics)
1
Nov
2
Nov
4
Nov
5
Nov
Aditya-L1 mission’s Scientific Results
Context
The Aditya-L1 mission, India's first scientific endeavor dedicated to studying the Sun, has released its first significant scientific results.
What Has Been Found?
- Scientists using the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), the primary payload of Aditya-L1, successfully estimated the onset time of a coronal mass ejection (CME) that erupted from the Sun in July.
- CMEs are powerful explosions that can release vast amounts of plasma into space, potentially disrupting satellites and communication systems on Earth.
- This precise estimation, based on unique data collected by VELC, marks a significant step in understanding these energetic eruptions and their characteristics.
About Aditya-L1
- Launched in: 2023
- Aditya is India's first space-based mission to study the solar system's biggest object. It is named after Surya - the Hindu god of the Sun (Aditya).
- Aditya-L1 is designed to monitor the Sun continuously, with a particular focus on CMEs, as the Sun approaches the maximum phase of its current solar cycle (Cycle No. 25).
- Positioned in a halo orbit around the L1 Lagrange point, the spacecraft enables uninterrupted observation of solar activities.
- Lagrange point 1 (L1) is the exact place between the Sun and Earth where the spacecraft has now reached. L1 is located 1.5 million km (932,000 miles) from the Earth, which is 1% of the Earth-Sun distance.
- The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) payload, developed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIAp), allows scientists to study CMEs close to the solar surface for the first time.
- The mission has a planned lifespan of five years, aiming to provide valuable data that could enhance our understanding of solar dynamics and their implications for life on Earth.
More Articles
Courses
Study
Notes
Home
Resources
More
