SUIT captures images of the Sun’s photosphere and chromosphere in this wavelength range using various scientific filters, the space agency said. “These unprecedented images, taken using eleven different filters, include the first-ever full-disk representations of the Sun in wavelengths ranging from 200 to 400 nm,” the space agency said.
“Among the notable features revealed are sunspots, plage, and quiet Sun regions, providing scientists with pioneering insights into the intricate details of the Sun’s photosphere and chromosphere,” Isro added. SUIT observations will help scientists study the dynamic coupling of the magnetised solar atmosphere and assist them in placing tight constraints on the effects of solar radiation on Earth’s climate, the space agency said.
The SUIT payload was powered on, on November 20. Following a successful pre-commissioning phase, the telescope captured its first light science images on December 6.
Aditya L1 was launched on Isro’s workhorse, PSLV-C57, on September 2 from the Sriharikota spaceport. It is projected to reach its designated orbit at the Sun-Earth Lagrangian Point – L1 approximately 127 days after its launch, on January 7, 2024. It will be placed in a halo orbit around L1 in the direction of the Sun. It would revolve around the Sun with the same relative position and hence can see the Sun continuously.
It carries seven payloads. While four payloads will observe light from the Sun, three payloads will measure in-situ (in original position) parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.
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Data collected around L1 would provide insights into the origin, acceleration and anisotropy of solar wind and space weather phenomena. Aditya-L1 is the second spacecraft that the Isro could send outside the sphere of influence of the Earth. The first one was the Mars Orbiter Mission.
The development of SUIT involved a collaborative effort of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, Isro, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, the Centre for Excellence in Space Science Indian at IISER-Kolkata, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics Bengaluru, the Udaipur Solar Observatory, and Tezpur University Assam.
