Aditya-L1: Indian Solar Mission’s New Findings 

Syllabus: GS3/Space 

In News 

• Researchers from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, ISRO, Department of Space and other institutions have used Aditya-L1’s data for studying solar flares.

Aditya-L1 

• Aditya-L1 spacecraft is launched from Satish Dhavan Space Center (SDCS), Shriharikota onboard PSLV-C57 with PSLV-XL configuration in 2023.
• It is the first space-based observatory-class Indian solar mission to study the Sun. 
• It is placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from the Earth.
  • A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipse.

Solar Flares

• Solar flares are sudden and intense bursts of electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. 
  • It is understood to result from the release of magnetic energy.
• Solar flares often accompany solar magnetic storms called coronal mass ejections (CME). 
• Solar flares become more frequent around every 11 years.

Types 

• There are five categories, listed here in order from most intense to least intense:
  • X-class flares  are the biggest and they are major events that can trigger radio blackouts around the whole world and long-lasting radiation storms in the upper atmosphere.
  • M-class flares are medium-sized and they generally cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth’s polar regions.
    • Minor radiation storms sometimes follow an M-class flare.
  • C-class flares are small with few noticeable consequences here on Earth.
    •  At its peak, a C-class flare is ten times less powerful than an M-class flare.
  • B-class flares are ten times smaller or weaker than C-class flares.
  • A-class flares are at least ten times less intense than B-class flares, with no noticeable consequences on Earth.

How Aditya-L1 Observes Solar Flares?

• Aditya-L1, located at the Sun-Earth L1 point, allows uninterrupted views of solar activity at different wavelengths. 
• Its Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) payload studies the Sun in 11 near-ultraviolet (NUV) filters, exploring layers from the top photosphere to the chromosphere. 
• Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) and the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) monitor X-ray emissions from intense processes in the solar corona.
  • Combined, NUV and X-ray measurements enable scientists to understand how activity in the lower solar atmosphere is tied to energy release in the corona during the build-up of solar flares.

Impacts 

• The findings suggest that repeated small-scale energy releases may gradually destabilise magnetic fields, triggering major flares. 
• It improves understanding of solar-flare formation and 
• It could contribute to more reliable flare and space-weather forecasting, helping protect satellites, astronauts, communication systems and other critical technologies.

Source :TH