India latest Sun mission Aditya L1 finds crucial solar storm data for world

India’s ambitious space mission Aditya-L1 is engaged in gathering information about the Sun. Recently, scientists released the first scientific results from Aditya-L1. Aditya-L1 is India’s first solar mission. On July 16, Visible Emission Line Coronagraph, one of its 7 essential instruments, gave an important information.

The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (Velc) aboard Aditya-L1 collected data about coronal mass ejections (CMEs). The surface of the Sun is constantly blazing and fountains of energy that look like lava have been seen emanating from it. This phenomenon occurs on the corona, the uppermost layer of the Sun. That is why it is called coronal mass ejection. The instrument Velc sent an important data about it to the scientists. BBC According to, this data allowed scientists to know the exact time of the onset of coronal mass ejection. That means, now the possibility of being detected in advance as to when the mass ejection will occur and in which direction it will go has increased a lot.

According to R Ramesh, professor at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, who designed the Velc instrument, coronal mass ejections or CMEs are balls of fire that erupt from the Sun’s surface. They are made up of particles of energy. CMEs can weigh up to trillions of kilograms. Their speed can be up to 3000 kilometers per second. These can grow in any direction. Even towards Earth.

In this way, when a CME moves towards the Earth, it takes 15 hours to reach the Earth while moving at its top speed. Because the distance between the Sun and the Earth is 15 crore kilometers. The device gathered data about a CME captured on July 16. It started at 13:08 GMT. This coronal mass ejection was also published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters in which it was said that it had originated on the Earth’s side. But within half an hour of its birth, its direction changed and it moved in the other direction. It was far away from the Earth so its effect could not reach here.

Solar storms and coronal mass ejections are continuously affecting the Earth’s atmosphere. They also affect the space environment where there are approximately 7800 satellites in the Earth’s outer orbit, out of which 50 are from India. According to Professor R Ramesh, at present our everyday life has become largely dependent on these satellites because most of the communication including internet connection happens through them. Therefore, there is a need to be careful about coronal mass ejections because they can damage the Earth’s magnetic field as well as satellites.