Indian Researchers Uncover Key Insights into the Sun's Corona with Aditya-L1

Indian researchers, utilizing the Aditya-L1 mission, have made major breakthroughs in studying Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)—large bursts of solar plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun's outer atmosphere.

Their findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, provide fresh insights into the Sun's corona and its influence on space weather.

On July 16, 2024, using the spacecraft’s Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), researchers observed a CME occurring alongside a strong solar flare.

VELC enabled scientists to study the Sun’s atmosphere by focusing on green light emitted by iron atoms at extremely high temperatures (over one million degrees Celsius). This allowed them to track solar material movement during the CME, revealing temperatures beyond one million degrees Celsius.

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) release huge amounts of plasma and charged particles into space at speeds of millions of kilometres per hour.

When they reach Earth, they can disrupt satellite communications, GPS, and power grids. During this CME, researchers noticed "coronal dimming," where the Sun’s brightness dropped by about 50% for six hours, offering key insights into the Sun's activity.

The CME also caused a 30% rise in temperature and increased turbulence, with plasma moving at 24.87 km/s.

This turbulence, driven by the Sun's magnetic fields, helps us understand how these eruptions happen. Additionally, the plasma was redshifted, moving away from the observer at 10 km/s, showing that the Sun’s magnetic field deflected it.

These findings highlight the important role of the Aditya-L1 mission in deepening our knowledge of the Sun’s corona and its effects on space weather, marking a significant advancement in India's solar exploration.