Only a few weeks have passed since Chandrayaan-3’s successful soft landing on the south pole of the moon. On Saturday (September 2), ISRO’s Aditya-L1 spacecraft will launch in preparation for its mission to explore the sun. The observatory mission will span for more than five years and arrive at the Lagrange point 1, or L1, in around 120 days.
The L1 is a viewpoint point where the sun’s and Earth’s gravitational pulls are exactly balanced. It is located around 1.5 million kilometers from the Earth and 148.5 million kilometers from the sun. The visual emission line coronagraph, also known as the VELC, is the mission’s main payload and was created and designed by Prof. Ramesh R. and his team at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru. The mission carries seven payloads in all.
The scientist discussed the significance of the mission and how it would affect several facets of Earthly existence in an interview. Excerpts:
WHO DECIDED ON L1 POINT AND WHY DID ISRO?
Astronomers from India and ISRO have so far observed the sun from Earth. Two restrictions apply to ground-based observational studies: first, they may only be conducted from dawn to sunset; second, dust in the atmosphere can skew the results of the research. In 2013, ISRO made the decision to launch a payload to the first Lagrange point in orbit to allow for ongoing solar research.
When you refer to the “L1 point,” keep in mind that there are five sites in the solar system where the gravitational pull of the sun and the Earth are exactly balanced. L1 is in a straight line with the sun and Earth because L1 is one of the five places known as Lagrange points after Italian astronomer Joseph Lagrange, who initially developed them. With a clear view of the sun, it is a gravitationally stable position. Since you are traveling far above the surface of the earth, any dust-related dispersion is likewise addressed. That’s one of the reasons the mission was created, according to Ramesh.
SUN FLARES AND CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS PREDICTIONS USED BY ADITYA-L1?
The electricity transmission infrastructure in Canada’s Quebec province was badly impacted by a geomagnetic storm that was a component of the solar storm in March 1989. In order to improve solar weather forecasting, scientists have been attempting to comprehend the conditions that contribute to coronal mass ejections (CME) and solar flares.
“Violent eruptions from the sun’s atmosphere are possible, and they have the potential to reach Earth. Consequently, there is a need to continuously research and monitor this. Our major payload will be looking at the corona, which is the main cause of all these tremendous outbursts. We will take 1,440 photos of it each day, one per minute, and we’ll be watching for even the smallest changes. We are also carrying a polarimeter, which will track variations in the magnetic field. It may serve as a warning before a strong solar outburst, he said.
The scientific community is optimistic that there will be sufficient data available at the conclusion of the Aditya-L1 mission to comprehend the solar signs we should be searching for to anticipate a CME.
“Sun spots near the solar disk are potentially more geo-effective and we need to monitor that particular database – whether the size of the sun spot is important or the appearance or polarity is important,” he continued. Sun spots in the center of the sun’s disk will travel directly on the sun-earth line if they decide to erupt due to changes in the magnetic field.
Around the sun spots, the CMEs are substantial expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the solar corona. Coronal material with an imbedded magnetic field is ejected by them. A explosion of electromagnetic radiation from the sun known as a solar flare travels quickly. Both have the potential to impact how well communications, power lines, and satellites in orbit operate.