Aditya-L1 payload captures first-ever image of a solar flare ‘kernel’

Posted 01 Mar 2025

2 min read

Solar Ultra-violet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) payload onboard Aditya-L1 observed an X6.3-class solar flare, which is one of most intense categories of solar eruptions.

How Aditya-L1 study Solar flares?

During solar flare that particular region of Sun generating flare becomes brighter in UV and X-ray. Aditya-L1 instruments such as SUIT, SoLEXS and HEL1OS can study these brightening.
SUIT: To image Solar Photosphere and Chromosphere in near Ultra-violet (UV) and, to measure solar irradiance variations in near UV.
SoLEXS and HEL1OS instruments: Monitor solar X-ray emissions.

Aditya-L1 Mission

A diagram illustrating the five Lagrange points (L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5) in the Sun-Earth system. The Sun is positioned at the center, with Earth orbiting around it. The Moon is shown near Earth. The diagram highlights the location of Aditya-L1 at the L1 Lagrange point, which lies between the Sun and Earth. L2 is behind Earth, L3 is on the opposite side of the Sun, and L4 and L5 form equilateral triangles with the Sun and Earth. The caption explains that Aditya-L1 will be placed around L1.

Mission Launch: First Indian space mission to study Sun launched in September, 2023.
Location: Placed in a halo orbit around Lagrange point 1 (L1) of Sun-Earth system for continuously viewing Sun.
- Lagrange Points are positions where gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals centripetal force required for a small object to move with them.
Objectives: Study of Solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics, Study of chromosphere and coronal heating, coronal Mass ejection etc.
Payloads: Total seven payloads on-board.
- Remote Sensing Payloads: Visible Emission Line Coronagraph(VELC), Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT), Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS), High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer(HEL1OS),
- In-situ observation Payloads: Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment(ASPEX), Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya (PAPA), Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers.

What are Solar Flares?

Sudden and intense bursts of solar energy in form of light/radiation and high energy charged particles from Solar atmosphere.
Types: Solar flares are classified based on their strength into five categories: A, B, C, M, and X, with each class representing a 10-fold increase in energy output.
Effect on Earth: causes radio blackouts; harm satellites, communications systems, and even ground-based technologies and power grids; endanger astronauts etc.