Aditya L1 Mission Live Updates: Study of solar quakes must as they affect geomagnetic field, says IIA scientist
Ahead of India’s Aditya-L1 solar mission, a top scientist said the monitoring of the Sun on a 24-hour basis is a must to study solar quakes which can alter the geomagnetic fields of earth. The Aditya-L1 mission to study the Sun is slated to be launched at 11.50 am from the Sriharikota spaceport on Saturday.
Explaining the need to study the Sun, Professor and In-Charge Scientist at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Dr R Ramesh told PTI that just as there are earthquakes on Earth, there are something called solar quakes – called as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) – on the surface of the Sun. In this process, millions and millions of tons of solar materials are thrown into the interplanetary space, he said, adding these CMEs can travel at a speed of approximately 3,000 km per second.Â
“Some of the CMEs can also be directed towards the Earth. The fastest CME can reach near Earth space in approximately 15 hours,” Dr Ramesh pointed out. On why this mission was different from other similar ventures, he said, “Though ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) have launched similar missions in the past, the Aditya L1 mission will be unique in two main aspects because we will be able to observe the solar corona from the place where it almost starts. Also we’ll be able to observe the magnetic field changes in the solar atmosphere, which are the cause for coronal mass ejections or solar quakes.”
