Why in news?
Aditya-L1, India’s first space-based solar mission, has achieved a breakthrough as its Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) captured the first-ever image of a solar flare ‘kernel’ in the lower solar atmosphere, specifically in the photosphere and chromosphere.
The photosphere is the visible surface of the sun, while the chromosphere is a layer above the photosphere.
What’s in today’s article?
- Solar Corona: The Sun’s Outermost Layer
- Solar Flare
- Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)
- Study the Solar flares by Aditya-L1
Solar Corona: The Sun’s Outermost Layer
- The solar corona is the Sun's outermost layer of atmosphere, made of ionized gas. It's visible during a total solar eclipse or with a special telescope called a coronagraph.
- Characteristics of the Solar Corona
- Extremely Hot: Temperatures range from 1 to 10 million Kelvin, much hotter than the Sun’s surface.
- Plasma Composition: Made of highly ionized gas.
- Dynamic Structure: Constantly changing due to the Sun’s magnetic fields.
- Emits High-Energy Radiation: Produces significant ultraviolet and X-ray radiation.
- Importance of the Solar Corona
- Helps in understanding solar processes and predicting heliospheric events.
- Responsible for the solar wind, formed by the outward expansion of corona plasma.
Solar Flare
- A solar flare is a sudden and intense burst of solar energy from the Solar atmosphere.
- This phenomenon is caused by Sun’s magnetic field.
- The magnetic field of the Sun is very dynamic in nature. Sometime they suddenly snap and release intense burst of energy – like a powerful, short flash.
- These flares emit radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, including X-rays and ultraviolet light, and can impact space weather, disrupting satellite communications, GPS, and power grids on Earth.
- Solar flares often originate from sunspots and are classified into categories (A, B, C, M, and X) based on their intensity.
Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)
- SUIT is one of the seven payloads on Aditya-L1, designed to capture full-disk images of the Sun in the 2000–4000 Å wavelength range, which has never been obtained before.
- Key Features & Importance
- Records images in a wavelength crucial for maintaining Ozone and Oxygen in Earth's atmosphere.
- Measures UV radiation, which can be hazardous for skin cancer.
- Addresses fundamental questions about the higher-temperature solar atmosphere and the origin of near-ultraviolet radiation.
- Aids in studying high-energy solar flares and solar radiation from Hard X-ray to Infrared.
- Supports in-situ measurements of solar wind particles and the Sun’s magnetic field at L1 point.
Study the Solar flares by Aditya-L1
- Recently, the SUIT (Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) payload on Aditya-L1 observed an X6.3-class solar flare, one of the most intense solar eruptions.
- Unique NUV Brightening Observation
- SUIT captured brightening in the near-ultraviolet (NUV) wavelength range (200-400 nm), a region never observed in such detail before.
- This confirms that the flare’s energy spreads through different layers of the Sun’s atmosphere.
- Confirmation of Energy-Temperature Linkage
- The localized brightening in the lower solar atmosphere was found to correspond with an increase in plasma temperature in the solar corona, validating long-standing theories.
- This observation provides new insights into the physics of solar flares, helping to refine our understanding of these massive solar explosions.
