News: The first science result from the Aditya-L1 mission is out. Scientists successfully predicted the onset of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that occurred on July 16.
1. Aditya-L1 mission is India’s first scientific mission dedicated to studying the sun. It was launched by ISRO in September 2023.
2. It was launched using a PSLV XL launch vehicle to be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian Point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system.
3. The primary objective of the mission is to enhance our knowledge of the sun, including the impact of its radiation, heat, particle flow, and magnetic fields on the earth.
4. It carries 7 payloads, including the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC).
5. VELC aims to study the dynamics of the solar corona, including coronal mass ejections (CME) and coronal magnetic field.
6. Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) refers to large scale release of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona into space.
7. CME’s travel at varying speeds, ranging from slower than 250 Km/s to as fast as nearly 3000 Km/s.
