First science result from Aditya L1, ISRO’s sun mission, is out

Context: The first science result from the Aditya-L1 mission,
India’s first scientific mission dedicated to studying the sun, is out. Scientists
who developed the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) aboard Aditya-L1
predicted the onset time of a coronal mass ejection on the sun on July 16. The
VELC was developed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIAp), Bengaluru. The
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched Aditya-L1 in September 2023.
Using data obtained with the VELC, the team could precisely arrive at the onset
time of a CME on the sun on July 16.

Key points

·      
Observations: The sun is an active object and often spews vast
quantities of plasma in violent eruptions called coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
These are the most powerful explosions happening in our solar system.

·      
Coronal
mass ejections: Coronal
Mass Ejections (CMEs) are large-scale eruptions of charged particles (plasma)
and magnetic fields from the solar atmosphere into space. They can disrupt a
range of ground- and space-based technologies and satellites on Earth.

·      
Visible
Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC): The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) onboard Aditya-L1, India's
first solar mission, will perform both spectroscopy and imaging of CMEs in the
inner corona and provide new insights into the evolution of CME thermodynamic
properties in the inner corona.

Features- VELC
will be the main payload among seven designed to study various aspects of the
sun and is one of the most precise instruments made in India. It was
conceptualised and designed in 15 years which will help in solving mysteries
related to solar astrophysics.

Significance- It will help in studying the temperature, velocity and density of the
corona, understand the processes that result in heating of the corona and
acceleration of the solar wind, aid studies on drivers of space weather,
measure the magnetic field of corona and study the development and origin of
coronal mass ejection.