ISRO's Aditya-L1 Mission and Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) Observations
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its first dedicated solar mission, Aditya-L1, aboard PSLV-C57 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, in 2023.
Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) Payload
- The VELC onboard Aditya-L1 has enabled scientists to make the first spectroscopic observations of a coronal mass ejection (CME) in the visible wavelength range.
- The unique spectroscopic observations allow for the study of CMEs very close to the Sun’s visible surface.
- The Sun-Earth Lagrangian L1 location provides a continuous view of the Sun, as it never sets from this vantage point.
Scientific Findings and Parameters
- Dr. V. Muthupriyal and her team estimated crucial CME parameters such as electron density, energy, mass, temperature, and speed.
- Approximately 370 million electrons per cubic centimeter were observed in the CME, compared to 10 - 100 million electrons in the non-CME corona.
- The CME energy was calculated to be around 9.4 * 10^21 joules, a stark contrast to the energy of atomic bombs used in World War II.
- The CME mass was nearly 270 million tons, much larger than the estimated mass of the iceberg responsible for sinking the Titanic.
- The initial speed of the CME was recorded at 264 km/sec.
- The CME temperature reached 1.8 million Kelvin.
Significance and Future Observations
- This close-range observation provides crucial data on material loss from the Sun during a CME.
- With the Sun approaching the peak activity phase of the current sunspot cycle (cycle 25), the VELC is expected to observe more massive eruptions.
