India’s ambitious solar mission, Aditya-L1, is poised to revolutionize our understanding of solar phenomena. TESS is already well into its mission and actively collecting unprecedented and crucial data about the Sun. Professor R. Ramesh, the principal investigator of the mission, leads the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (Velc). This instrument constitutes one of the seven scientific tools onboard the spacecraft and is operated from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru. Launched last year, Aditya-L1 is India’s first solar observatory, intended to observe and understand solar phenomena. It will especially look ahead to the next, soon-to-be-here maximum activity cycle of the Sun.
Prof Ramesh, a researcher specializing in energy access and development studies, has been closely tracking and interpreting raw data gathered by Velc. This device essentially acts like an artificial Moon. For that reason, it efficiently occludes the Sun’s bright surface, allowing scientists to observe the faint outer corona without interruption. In terms of understanding coronal mass ejections (CMEs), observing this region is essential. Such research indeed is one of the primary scientific objectives of the Aditya-L1 mission.
CMEs are powerful solar explosions that have the potential to cause severe disturbances to Earth’s near-space environment. While they can create beautiful auroras HERE on Earth, they threaten OUR technology by frying satellite electronics and knocking out power grids. “The most beautiful manifestations of a CME are auroras, which are a clear example that charged particles from the Sun are traveling to Earth,” Professor Ramesh noted. He cautioned about their potential dangers, stating, “They can make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, knock down power grids and affect weather and communication satellites.”
Over the next year, as it furthers its climb toward solar maximum, scientists at the helm of STEREO can expect to see ten or more CMEs per day. This increased frequency will present an unparalleled chance to study these events in real time. Indeed, as Professor Ramesh described a recent CME with a mass of 270 million tonnes a “medium-sized” event. He pointed out its amazing energy release, equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of TNT, and that it reaches a surface temperature of 1,800,000 degrees Celsius at its core.
Aditya-L1’s data collection capabilities can be considered even more impressive when taking into account its collaboration with NASA. Looking ahead, the IIA is partnering with NASA to study this data. They’re zooming in on one of the biggest CMEs ever observed by Aditya-L1 to date. The purpose of this collaboration is to develop a set of benchmarks for assessing new solar activity as the Sun heads into its next maximum cycle. I would think of the CME we tested as having happened when the Sun was in its typical activity cycle. This serves as the baseline for our assessment. We’ll use it to measure what takes place at the peak activity cycle,” he said.
The information gleaned from Velc and Aditya-L1’s observations is expected to enhance understanding of not only solar dynamics but its effects on Earth’s environment. Hopefully, the information gained will assist in determining what countermeasures should be employed to protect our satellites from beyond near space. They will be instrumental in helping us understand our space environment right here, near-Earth,” said Professor Ramesh.
The continuous work of Professor Ramesh and his team to make this a reality is another important milestone in solar research. They deepen our observational capabilities to uncover hidden mysteries. Together, these insights will help uncover how solar activities drive both space weather and terrestrial phenomena.
