Unique space telescope designed by Pune scientists ready for Sun mission

Unique space telescope designed by Pune scientists ready for Sun mission

Subject: Science and tech

Section: Space

Context:

• The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT), a unique space telescope developed by Pune’s Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), is now ready and has been delivered to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The telescope is set to be integrated with the ADITYA-L1 mission, expected to be launched in mid-August this year.

Aditya-L1 mission:

• ADITYA-L1 will be ISRO’s first space observatory dedicated to studying the Sun.
• It will fly approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth to the L1, or Lagrange Point 1, which is one of the five favorable spots for observing the Sun.
  • After the launch of the Aditya-L1 mission, it will take approximately 100 days to reach the halo orbit around the L1 point, where all seven unique payloads will carry out scientific observations.
• The mission aims to provide regular images and updates on the Sun’s surface phenomena and space weather.
• The Aditya-L1 mission will carry seven different payloads capable of studying various phenomena on the Sun across the electromagnetic spectrum and solar wind.
• Aditya-L1 will enable seamless measurement of solar radiation from Hard X-ray to Infrared, as well as in-situ measurements of particles in the solar wind and the Sun’s magnetic field at the L1 point.

About Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT):

• SUIT is a unique space telescope developed by Pune’s Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA).
• SUIT, for the first time, will allow us to record images in this wavelength crucial for maintaining the Ozone and Oxygen content in the atmosphere of the Earth.
• SUIT will also measure the UV radiation hazardous for skin cancer.

The SUIT telescope will address fundamental questions such as the existence of a higher-temperature atmosphere above the cooler surface of the Sun and the origin and variation of near-ultraviolet radiation and high-energy solar flares.