provided information on intense
solar storm
The Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO) has achieved a
significant feat by capturing the
most powerful solar storm in two
decades through its Aditya L1 and
Chandrayaan-2 missions.
This solar storm, originating from
an active sunspot called AR13664,
spawned a series of intense X-class
flares and coronal mass ejections
(CMEs) directed at Earth.
India's first dedicated scientific
mission to study the Sun, Aditya L1,
along with Chandrayaan-2, which
orbits the Moon, provided a unique
vantage point to observe and
analyze this powerful geomagnetic
phenomenon.
"This is the largest geomagnetic
storm since 2003 in terms of its
strength, as the flare-up area on
the Sun was as large as the
historically significant Carrington
event that occurred in 1859," ISRO
said.
Aditya L1 and Chandrayaan-2
ISRO's Aditya L1 mission, equipped
with state-of-the-art instruments
like Solar Wind Ion Spectrometer
(SWIS) and Supra Thermal and
Energetic Particle Spectrometer
(STEPS), recorded the enhancement
of alpha particle and proton fluxes,
which are signatures of such solar
events, were collected.
Chandrayaan-2 also captured
traces of solar storms from its
lunar orbit. The orbiter's X-ray
monitor autonomously identified
large solar flares, providing insight
into the local high-energy particle
environment.
ISRO plans to launch the first solar
mission, Aditya-L1, in September
2023. It was launched using the
PSLV-C57 rocket.
Chandrayaan-2 was successfully
launched into space from
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle (GSLVMkIII-M1).
Chandrayaan-2 is India's second
mission to the Moon (after
Chandrayaan-1) and consists of a
completely indigenous orbiter,
lander (Vikram) and rover
(Pragyan).
