India's first solar observatory, Aditya-L1, has delivered a scientific breakthrough, providing the most compelling evidence yet for the mechanisms that heat the Sun's corona to millions of degrees, while its surface remains at a relatively cooler 5,500 degrees Celsius.
Data analysed over the past month from the spacecraft's sophisticated Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) and Solar Wind Particle Experiment (SWEP) has identified "nano-flares" and specific plasma wave interactions as the primary drivers of this enigmatic process.
The corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere, has been a subject of intense study for decades. The new data from Aditya-L1 shows a constant cascade of tiny, explosive "nano-flares" occurring across the solar surface, collectively injecting immense heat into the corona.
Furthermore, the probe has precisely measured the transfer of energy from the Sun's magnetic field to the plasma via Alfvén waves, confirming a long-held theoretical model.
"This is a 'Eureka' moment for solar physics, not just for India but for the world," said Prof. Dipankar Banerjee, a project scientist for the mission at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
"Aditya-L1's unique position at the Lagrange Point 1 (L1) gives it an uninterrupted view of the Sun, allowing us to gather continuous, high-resolution data that ground-based telescopes or satellites in Earth's orbit cannot. We are finally piecing together the puzzle of coronal heating."
The discovery has profound implications. A better understanding of coronal heating is directly linked to predicting solar storms and space weather, which can cripple satellites, disrupt power grids on Earth, and affect aviation.
This success firmly establishes India as a key player in fundamental space science and paves the way for more advanced future missions to study our star.
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