Aditya-L1: its functioning and purpose

  • September 5, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Aditya-L1: its functioning and purpose

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Space technology

Context:

  • Launched on 2 September 2023, the observations from Adtiya L1 will help in understanding the dynamics of the Sun and how solar variability impacts the climate on Earth and affects the space weather.

Lagrange point:

  • Lagrange point 1 or L1 is one of the five points located approximately 1.5 million kilometres away, where the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Earth are in equilibrium.
  • Hence, a spacecraft placed at L1 orbits the Sun at the same rate as Earth and affords an uninterrupted view of the Sun, making it an ideal observation post for space-based solar observatories.
  • Discovered by: Mathematician Joseph Louis Lagrange.
  • Currently the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA- Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) have placed their satellites at L1.

To understand climate variability:

  • Solar activity is measured in terms of the number of sunspots.
  • Sunspots are cooler regions on the Sun’s surface which increase and decrease in a cycle of 11 years.
  • When the Sun is active, the number of sunspots is in the hundreds, and at solar minimum, the numbers are nearly zero.
  • Whatever changes we observe in the solar radiation, nearly 80% occur in the ultraviolet range.
  • The Earth’s upper atmosphere absorbs most of the solar UV rays.
  • The absorbed energy affects the atmosphere’s composition, temperature and other parameters.

SUIT instrument:

  • The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) developed by the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics, in close collaboration with the ISRO, the Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India, Mohanpur, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education.
  • It will observe the UV radiation from different zones of the solar atmosphere.
  • The onboard intelligence system will detect any sudden appearance of bright spots, such as solar flares (a sudden burst of high energy visible light, UV rays, X rays and Gamma rays) on the disc.
  • The automated system will trigger the rapid imaging of different layers, and thus, we will obtain a 3D tomographic view of the Sun.
  • Combining the data from the Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS) and the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) developed by ISRO’s Bengaluru based U. R. Rao Satellite Centre with SUIT can help us gain insights into the emergence, progression and energetics of transient events on the surface of the Sun in the UV region.
  • The data from SUIT and other papers of Aditya L1 will help us resolve the contribution of natural and anthropogenic factors driving climate change.

Coronal Mass Ejection (CME):

  • A chunk of the corona suddenly accelerates and leaps into interplanetary space called the CME.
  • This cloud consisting of billion tonnes of energetic plasma mixed with a solar magnetic field is hurled at 250 kilometers per second to 3,000 km/s.
  • The corona is visible only during the solar eclipses, and a chronograph can create artificial eclipses in the solar telescope to observe the corona.
  • VELC instrument:
    • The Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) developed by the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics in close collaboration with the ISRO can peek as close as 1.05 solar radii, a region never imaged by any solar telescope.
    • From 1.05, it can scan upto three solar radii. With this unique capability of VELC, we can get crucial information about the mechanism responsible for CME acceleration.

When a solar storm brews:

  • The Sun emits a constant stream of charged particles and a mixture of solar magnetic fields that travel throughout interplanetary space called a solar wind.
  • The average speed of the flow near the Earth is about 300 kilometers per second.
  • Solar winds impact the Earth’s magnetosphere. These solar winds sneak through the weak region of the magnetosphere (at poles) to create aurora.
  • When solar storms disrupt the earth’s magnetosphere, geomagnetic storms occur, which result in disruption of GPS systems, short-wave communication, and power grids, forest fires.
  • The energy from the charged particles heats the upper atmosphere, increasing the density and causing extra drag on satellites in low-earth orbit.

Space Weather:

  • The changes in the solar wind’s density, speed and direction is called space weather.
  • Solar storms result in inclement space weather.
  • Aditya L1 will function as a space weather station.
  • The Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) developed by the ISRO’s Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory, the Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya (PAPA) developed by the Thiruvananthapuram based Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and the advanced Tri-axial High-Resolution Digital Magnetometers developed by the Bengaluru based ISRO’s Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems keep a constant watch over the parameters of space weather near Aditya L1.
  • Using the data from these instruments, scientists can predict probable geomagnetic storms and better understand space weather dynamics.
Aditya-L1: its functioning and purpose Science and tech