More solar storms brewing after last week’s aurorae as Sun ‘wakes up’

More solar storms brewing after last week’s aurorae as Sun ‘wakes up’

Sub: Science and tech

Sec: Space sector

Tags: aurorae, Solar storms

Context:

• On the night of May 10, 2023, a vivid display of aurorae was visible globally, including in atypical locations such as Hanle, Ladakh.

Details of the event:

• The aurorae were caused by a geomagnetic storm triggered by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun, which interacted with Earth’s magnetic field and upper atmosphere.
• The event coincided with the Sun approaching the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, marked by increased sunspot activity and magnetic field reversals.
  • The solar cycle is the cycle that the Sun’s magnetic field goes through approximately every 11 years.
  • The solar cycle affects activity on the surface of the Sun, such as sunspots which are caused by the Sun’s magnetic fields.
• The specific sunspot AR 3664 was noted to be exceptionally active, growing 16 times as wide as Earth by May 7 and releasing three CMEs that impacted Earth on May 10.
• The last similar intensity geomagnetic storm occurred in 2003. The most severe historical geomagnetic storm recorded occurred in 1859, known for causing widespread telegraph disruptions.

Potential Hazards:

• Such solar events can cause significant disruptions, including blackouts, satellite malfunctions, and dangers to astronauts due to intensified solar radiation and charged particles.

Auroras:

• Auroras are natural light displays that occur when charged particles from solar winds interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere.
  • The magnetosphere is the region surrounding the Earth where the dominant magnetic field is the Earth’s, rather than the magnetic field of interplanetary Space.
  • It protects the Earth against solar winds and is strongest at the poles.
• These particles travel along the Earth’s magnetic field and upon colliding with atmospheric molecules and atoms, cause emissions of light seen as auroras.
  • In North Pole- Aurora Borealis
  • In South Pole- Aurora Australis

Role of Aditya- L1:

• ISRO’s spacecraft Aditya-L1, positioned at the L1 Lagrange point, is equipped to monitor solar activities and played a role in observing recent solar events.
  • Instruments like ISRO’s Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) on Aditya-L1 are critical for advancing the understanding and prediction of solar storms.
  • ASPEX payload had captured the enhancement of the alpha particle and proton flux of the solar wind as signatures of the solar storm.
  • SoLEXS and HEL1OS payloads had detected “the multiple X- and M-class flares during the last few days”.
• The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter around the moon also reportedly detected “signatures” of the emissions from the Sun.

About Aditya-L1 Mission:

• Aditya-L1 is the first space based observatory class Indian solar mission to study the Sun from a substantial distance of 1.5 million kilometers.
• Aditya-L1 is also ISRO’s second astronomy observatory-class mission after AstroSat (2015).
• The spacecraft is placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system.

Objective:

• The mission aims to provide valuable insights into the solar corona, photosphere, chromosphere, and solar wind.
• The primary objective of Aditya-L1 is to gain a deeper understanding of the Sun’s behavior, including its radiation, heat, particle flow, and magnetic fields, and how they impact Earth.

Payloads of Aditya-L1 solar observatory: