Indian scientists announced a significant breakthrough from Aditya-L1, India’s first solar observation mission in space. This discovery could help protect Earth’s power grids and satellites from solar activity that threatens critical infrastructure.
Capturing the Birth of a Coronal Mass Ejection
On July 16, Aditya-L1’s Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) recorded data pinpointing the start of a coronal mass ejection (CME). CMEs are massive explosions of charged particles from the Sun’s corona, weighing up to a trillion kilograms and traveling at speeds of 3,000 kilometers per second.
Professor R. Ramesh of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics explained the observed CME’s initial trajectory toward Earth. It launched at 13:08 GMT but veered away within 30 minutes, missing Earth’s space weather. However, CMEs, solar flares, and solar storms regularly affect Earth’s magnetic field and satellites.
While CMEs pose minimal direct risk to humans, their impacts are profound. Mild CMEs create auroras near the poles, but stronger ones cause auroras in unexpected locations, like London or France. In space, CMEs can damage satellites, disrupt power grids, and interfere with communication systems.
“Our reliance on satellites makes CMEs a serious threat to internet, phone lines, and radio communication,” said Prof. Ramesh. He compared the potential damage to the 1859 Carrington Event, which disrupted global telegraph lines. Earth narrowly avoided a similarly powerful storm in 2012.
Historical examples show CMEs’ disruptive potential. In 1989, a CME caused a nine-hour blackout in Quebec, leaving six million people without power. In 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control across European airports, causing widespread travel delays.
Advancing Solar Observation with Aditya-L1
Monitoring solar activity allows scientists to predict CMEs and take preventative measures, such as shutting down power grids or protecting satellites. Countries like the U.S., Japan, China, and ESA have long observed the Sun through space missions. This year, India joined this elite group with Aditya-L1.
Aditya-L1 provides a continuous view of the Sun, unaffected by eclipses. Unlike ground-based observations limited to the Sun’s photosphere, Aditya-L1 focuses on the solar corona. This outermost solar layer is visible only during total eclipses from Earth.
Aditya-L1’s coronagraph offers a unique advantage over NASA-ESA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). “Our coronagraph blocks the Sun’s photosphere, giving us an uninterrupted view of the corona around the clock,” said Prof. Ramesh. SOHO’s larger coronagraph blocks part of the corona, limiting its ability to observe CME origins.
India’s solar observatories in Kodaikanal, Gauribidanur, and Udaipur complement Aditya-L1’s findings. Together, they improve our understanding of the Sun’s behavior and its effects on Earth.
Aditya-L1’s pioneering mission strengthens India’s role in solar research. Its insights could protect infrastructure and technology from solar storms, safeguarding Earth’s future.