Indian solar mission's new findings throw light on enduring Sun mysteries
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- Aditya-L1, India's first solar observation mission, has provided fresh clues to why the Sun's corona reaches 2-40 million Celsius while the visible surface is only 5,500C, with findings published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
- Prof R Ramesh of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics led the study, analyzing a "very energetic" coronal mass ejection on 5 August 2024 using Aditya-L1's Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (Velc).
- The researchers quantified that waves from bubbling surface motions supply only 7% of the corona's energy, while snapping and reconnecting magnetic field lines supply the remaining 93%.
- Within 10 hours of the August 2024 CME, the tangled magnetic field lines reconnected and the corona's energy was restored to its original configuration, according to Prof Ramesh.
- The Sun launches 2-3 CMEs per day during low-activity periods and 10 or more during peak activity in its 11-year cycle — eruptions that can knock out power grids and disrupt communication satellites on Earth.
Why it matters: The study puts a number on a long-standing solar physics debate, showing magnetic reconnection supplies 93% of the corona's heat while surface waves contribute just 7%. The findings provide an "important benchmark" for predicting CMEs — eruptions that launch two to three times daily and can knock out power grids and satellites on Earth.
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