Indian astronomers using Aditya-L1’s primary coronagraph have shown that a coronal mass ejection expanded unevenly, a finding relevant to forecasting space weather.

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• Scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics used data from the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph, or VELC, on board Aditya-L1.
• The Indian Institute of Astrophysics is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology.
• Their analysis showed a coronal mass ejection expanded unevenly instead of growing like a simple, symmetric bubble.
• VELC is the primary payload among the seven carried by Aditya-L1, India’s first space-based solar observatory.
• Aditya-L1 was launched in September 2023 and operates from the Sun–Earth L1 point.
• The team combined VELC spectroscopy of the 530.3 nm green coronal line with images from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
• A three-dimensional model was then used to reconstruct the geometry and motion of the eruption.
• Asymmetric expansion matters because it can change the speed at which a coronal mass ejection travels towards Earth.
• Such eruptions affect space weather and can disturb satellites and communication networks.
• The study has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Tags: AdityaL1, VELC, SpaceWeather