Aditya-L1 reveals how solar plasma behaves during coronal mass ejections
Indian researchers have analyzed a significant solar event using data from the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) on board the Aditya-L1 mission, reports show. As India’s first solar observing mission, Aditya-L1 observed a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on July 16, 2024, providing valuable insights into the Sun’s dynamic outer atmosphere. This event, characterized by a massive ejection of solar plasma and magnetic fields, was studied in detail using emission at a specific wavelength of 5303 Å, known for its green hue caused by superheated iron atoms.
Aditya-L1 was launched on September 2, 2023 and successfully placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point L1 in January 2024, and is located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. According to reports, the mission aims to monitor solar activity and its impact on space weather. The findings regarding the CME were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letter by researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
Observations of coronal mass ejection
Reportedly the researchers identified a phenomenon known as coronal dimming, in which the brightness of the Sun’s corona in the affected area decreased by almost 50 percent due to emissions of solar material. This dimming lasted for about six hours. The study also recorded a 30% increase in temperature and increased turbulence in the region, characterized by non-thermal plasma motion at a speed of 24.87 km/s.
Plasma motion and magnetic influence
Doppler velocity measurements indicated that the plasma was red-shifted and moving away from the observer at a speed of about 10 km/s, sources said. The CME’s trajectory was influenced by the Sun’s magnetic field, which caused a deflection in the motion of the ejected material. This discovery underlines the importance of understanding magnetic forces in predicting the behavior of CMEs as they traverse interplanetary space.
These findings highlight the critical role of Aditya-L1 in unraveling the complexity of solar phenomena, paving the way for improved space weather forecasting and advancing solar science.
