Introduction

Hello there, buddies! It hasn't even been two weeks following the historic success of Chandrayaan 3, but ISRO is about to make history once more. L1 Aditya mission. Today, ISRO is looking at the sun rather than the moon. Let's take a closer look at this assignment in this video. Aditya L1 is India's first mission dedicated to studying the Sun.

A Different Perspective

However, unlike Chandrayaan, Aditya will not land on the Sun. In actuality, it will be watching the Sun from afar. During the voyage, this spacecraft will be closer to the Earth than the Sun. After launch, it will travel 1.5 million kilometers away from Earth and will orbit in a halo orbit from the Lagrange point L1.

Lagrange Points: The Key to Stability

It will take roughly 4 months to get there, and once there, it will stay for 5 years and monitor the Sun. That is why it is both a spacecraft and a space observatory. The first question that springs to mind is what this Lagrange Point is. Lagrange Points are unique locations in space where the gravitational forces of two celestial bodies balance.

We get 5 Lagrange points when we consider the Sun and the Earth. These 5 Lagrange points can be shown on the screen. These are the sites where, if we send a spaceship, the centrifugal force of the spacecraft will be cancelled out by the gravitational pulls of the Earth and the Sun.

The Benefits of Lagrange Points

What is the advantage of this? We achieve stability. Whatever spacecraft we send to the Lagrange point, we don't have to exert much effort to keep it there. The spaceship will conserve fuel and continue to revolve with the Earth's revolution around the Sun. This allows for longer missions to be completed.

The second advantage is constant observation. If we consider Lagrange Point L1, anything we send to L1 will always be in a position from which both the Earth and the Sun can be visible. And neither the Sun nor the Earth will ever be shrouded in each other's shadows. Consider this: whether we send a spacecraft to a lunar orbit, such as the Chandrayaan, or to Earth's orbit, the Earth is occasionally hidden by revolving around the moon.

Aditya L1's Positioning

Similarly, by rotating around the Earth, the Sun is obscured. That is why Lagrange points are so crucial, and Aditya L1 will be assigned to the L1 position. Aditya L1 got its name from there. Other space agencies that have dispatched solar observatories in the past have positioned them at L1. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, for example.

In a nutshell, SOHO. NASA and the European Space Agency collaborated on this mission. Because they are nearest to the Earth, L1 and L2 are the most critical Lagrange points. The well-known James Webb Space Telescope has been installed at L2. Can you figure out why? I mentioned it in the James Webb Space Telescope video.

The Mission of Aditya L1

The Sun will be concealed behind the Earth at L2. And, because this telescope must see light years away to the depths of the universe, it must cover up the Sun's light to avoid interference. This is why the L2 point was chosen. But, returning to Aditya L1, what will it learn about the Sun? To comprehend this, we must first learn about the Sun.

Our solar system's Sun has a diameter 109 times that of Earth. It is 333,000 times heavier than Earth. This animation shows the size of the Sun in relation to the size of the Earth. A Sun can hold 1.3 million Earths. There are different layers in the Sun, much as there are different layers in the Earth (core, mantle, and crust).

The Layers of the Sun

There is also a core in the Sun. Nuclear fusion events occur in the core, converting hydrogen and helium gases into energy. This energy generates sunlight and heat, both of which we experience on Earth. The temperature in the core can reach 15 million degrees Celsius. The radiative zone is just outside of it.

The radiative zone covers 70% of the Sun's radius. The convective zone follows. Approximately 30% of the radius of the Sun. The name comes from the fact that energy is transported through convection here. Following that is the Sun's surface, which we call the Photosphere. Even though we call it a surface, the Sun does not have a surface like the Earth's.

Because all that exists are hot gases and plasma. As a result, it is also known as the lowest layer of the Sun's atmosphere. The temperature is slightly lower here, at 5,500° Celsius. Above this is a layer of Chromosphere, when the temperature begins to rise once more. As you climb, the temperature rises from 6,000° Celsius to 20,000° Celsius.

Then comes a thin layer known as the Transition Region, followed by the Sun's outermost layer, known as the Corona. This corona is unrelated to the coronavirus. The plasma in the Corona layer is extremely hot, ranging from 1-3 million degrees Celsius. One question is why the sun's core is so hot while the surface cools and the corona layer heats up again.

Exploring the Sun's Mysteries

What is the cause of the Sun's core being so hot as the surface becomes colder and the Corona layer becomes hot again? Scientists are still baffled by this question.

Aditya L1's space mission could give some information here. Scientists have their own hypotheses about why this is happening. But no one knows the precise reason. When we look at the sun from the ground, we normally see the Photosphere layer. When there is a solar eclipse, however, we observe a reddish light around the eclipse.

That is the stratum of the Chromosphere. During a total solar eclipse, that layer is similarly obscured, leaving only the Corona layer visible. It casts a hazy halo around the sun. Aditya L1's objective is to investigate the sun's three outermost layers. Corona, Photosphere, and Chromosphere. But how will this be accomplished millions of kilometers from the sun?

Instruments on Aditya L1

Before we go into the equipment, we need to understand what the sun emits. First and foremost, we all know that the sun emits heat and light. This is self-evident. Aside from that, the Sun emits several types of electromagnetic radiation. Not only do we see visible light with our eyes, but we also see ultraviolet radiation, UV rays that can cause skin cancer, infrared radiation, radio waves, X-rays, and gamma rays.

X-rays and gamma rays are also dangerous forms of radiation, but our planet's atmosphere shields us from them. Aside from this, the Sun also emits solar wind. The solar wind is essentially a massive wave of charged electrons and protons. We observe the Northern Lights when the solar wind interacts with the Earth's magnetic field.

This lovely light that we see in places like Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. If you haven't seen my vlog on this, the link is in the description. Aside from that, the Sun produces Coronal Mass Ejections, or CMEs. These are the large solar wind and magnetic field bursts. The Sun then occasionally generates solar flares, which are strong blasts of light and energy.

Solar flares are mentioned in numerous science fiction films. A terrible solar flare destroys the earth, as seen in films such as 2012 and Knowing. Aditya L1 has seven devices, known as payloads, installed to measure all of these things. First, the VELC, or Visible Emission Line Coronagraph.

It will investigate the Corona layer and look for Coronal Mass Ejections. The second is the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope. In a nutshell, SUIT. Its mission is to photograph the Sun's photosphere and chromosphere in the ultraviolet spectrum. Third, there's the Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer. In a nutshell, SOLEXS. The fourth instrument is the HEL1OS (High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer).

Both will investigate the Sun's X-ray emissions. Specifically, X-rays released by solar flares. Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment, or ASPEX, is the fifth experiment. And the sixth is PAPA, or Plasma Analyzer Package for Aditya. These two will investigate the solar wind. The Magnetometer MAG, which measures magnetic fields, is the final payload.

Magnetic fields that arrive at this L1 location. Four of the seven payloads will study the Sun directly, while the remaining three will collect data around the L1 point. You must have realized by now that in order to collect these measurements, you must leave the Earth because the Earth's atmosphere stops a lot of radiation, X-rays, and other things from reaching the Earth.

Conclusion

In terms of other missions connected to the Sun, In 2018, NASA and the European Space Agency launched the Parker Solar Probe in partnership. Its mission was to make direct contact with the Corona layer of the Sun. Aside from that, NASA and the European Space Agency launched a solar orbiter in 2020. They were all working toward the same goal: better understanding the Sun. Specifically, the damaging rays emitted by the sun.

Aditya L1 | India's First Sun Mission Launched! | ISRO, FAQ:

**Q1: What is the Aditya L1 mission?**

A1: The Aditya L1 mission is India's first mission devoted to solar research. It entails stationing a spacecraft near Lagrange Point L1 to study the Sun's layers and phenomena.

**Q2: Where is Lagrange Point L1, and why is it important?**

A2: Lagrange place L1 is a unique place in space where the Earth's and Sun's gravitational forces balance. It is around 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. It is significant because it provides steadiness for continuous Sun observation.

**Q3: What will Aditya L1 study about the Sun?**

A3: Aditya L1 will investigate the uppermost layers of the Sun, including the Photosphere, Chromosphere, and Corona. Its goal is to learn about the Sun's behavior and events like Coronal Mass Ejections and solar flares.

**Q4: How will Aditya L1 make these observations?**

A4: The Aditya L1 spacecraft is outfitted with seven experiments or payloads that will measure various characteristics of the Sun, including as X-rays, UV radiation, solar wind, and magnetic fields.

**Q5: What makes the Sun's core so hot, while the surface gets colder and the Corona layer gets hot again?**

A5: Scientists are still baffled, but Aditya L1's mission may provide some answers. The Sun's core is hot due to nuclear fusion events, although the causes of temperature differences in different layers are still being investigated.

**Q6: How can I learn more about solar-related topics and missions?**

A6: You might look into instructional movies and resources supplied by ISRO and space enthusiasts such as Dhruv Rathee. These links provide useful information about solar science and missions such as Aditya L1.

**Q7: Is there a way to support the Aditya L1 mission or stay updated on its progress?**

A7: You may stay up to speed on the Aditya L1 mission by following ISRO's official channels and websites. Supporting space exploration organizations can also help to foster scientific projects like this one.

Written by: Md Muktar Hossain