Bharat’s Aditya-L1 Mission, in a
remarkable work, captures the first-ever full-disk images of the Sun, said ISRO.
The photos – in near ultraviolent wavelengths – provide pioneering insights
into the intricate details of the Sun’s photosphere and chromosphere.
The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope
or SUIT instrument on board the Aditya-L1 spacecraft captured the pictures in
the 200-400 nm wavelength range, said ISRO.
SUIT captures images of the Sun’s
photosphere and chromosphere in this wavelength range using multitude of scientific
filters.
Sunspots, plage and quiet Sun reqions
were among the characteristics revealed through the photos.
The SUIT observations will help
scientists study the dynamic coupling of the magnetized solar atmosphere and
assist them in placing tight constraints on the effects of solar radiation on
Earth’s climate, stated the Indian space agency.
“On November 20, 2023, the SUIT payload
was powered ON. Following a successful pre-commissioning phase, the telescope
captured its first light science images on December 6, 2023,” ISRO said, adding
“These unprecedented images, taken using eleven different filters, include the
first-ever full-disk representations of the Sun in wavelengths ranging from 200
to 400 nm, excluding Ca II h. The full disk images of the Sun in the Ca II h
wavelength have been studied from other observatories.”
Aditya-L1 is the first Indian
space-based observatory to study the Sun from a halo orbit around first Sun-Earth
Lagrangian point (L1), which is situated roughly 1.5 million km from Earth.
The Aditya-L1 spacecraft was launched on
September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
NE Watch Desk
