Scientists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have reported observations of a flareless coronal mass ejection (CME) from the solar atmosphere with the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) instrument onboard Aditya-L1 mission.
The Aditya-L1 mission is India’s first scientific mission devoted to finding out the Sun and the VELC payload was developed by the Bengaluru-based IIA.
Scientists related to the IIA mentioned that utilizing the VELC payload, it was attainable to look at the corona not solely nearer to the place its base is positioned in the solar atmosphere, but in addition receive knowledge at shorter time intervals in comparison with different present coronagraphs in orbit.
The VELC staff noticed the onset of a CME that erupted from the Sun on July 5, 2024, with no affiliation to any flare.
Magnetic instability
They mentioned that the knowledge obtained offers precious clues to know and differentiate the magnetic instabilities on the Sun that causes the flares and the CMEs.
The outcomes of the examine might be showing quickly in the Astrophysical Journal, a world peer-reviewed scientific journal.
“Observation of CMEs as and when they originate on the Sun and understanding their association with flares is one of the major science goals for VELC, and we are happy that the instrument is doing that,” mentioned R. Ramesh, senior professor at the IIA and the principal investigator for the VELC.
Prof. Ramesh added that with the Sun approaching the most section of the present solar cycle 25, the CMEs are anticipated to happen often.
“Hence, uninterrupted monitoring of the Sun with VELC for CMEs is expected to provide valuable data to the Indian and international scientific community. The unique design of VELC helps to observe the CMEs close to the limb of the solar surface, and their onset time. These advantages facilitate better investigation of the association between CMEs and flares near the solar limb,” Prof. Ramesh added.
What are flares and CMEs?
Flares and CMEs are explosive occasions in the Sun. They are because of magnetic reconnection throughout which magnetic subject traces rearrange.
During a flare, vitality is launched primarily as electromagnetic radiation from the heated plasma. Compared to flares, the CMEs are huge eruptions of plasma and magnetic subject weighing about trillion kilograms that race outwards from the Sun by the interplanetary house at speeds as much as 3,000 kilometres per second. The affiliation between flares and CMEs is ambiguous until date.
Published – March 14, 2025 09:46 pm IST
