Indian scientists take a peek into the Sun

The findings of R. Ramesh, A. Kumari, C. Kathiravan, D. Ketaki, and T. J. Wang's investigation have been published in the prestigious international journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Team Newsable

New Delhi, First Published Sep 9, 2021, 4:23 PM IST | Last Updated Sep 9, 2021, 4:23 PM IST

For the first time, Indian scientists, working with foreign partners, measured the magnetic field of an eruption from the Sun's atmosphere by monitoring the faint thermal radio emission associated with the erupting plasma.

According to a Science & Technology ministry statement, studying the phenomena occurring in the Sun's atmosphere, or the solar corona, gives insights into the Sun's inner workings.
The Sun is a highly active entity that spews forth massive amounts of gas in various violent events, and the corona is an area of extremely high temperatures, strong magnetic fields, and explosive plasma eruptions.

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Coronal Mass Ejections are a type of such eruption (CMEs). CMEs are the most intense explosions that have ever occurred in our solar system. When a very powerful CME passes close to Earth, it can destroy the electronics in our satellites and impair radio communication networks on the ground. As a result, astronomers examine these occurrences regularly. This area of study contributes to a better understanding of Space Weather.

According to the reports, a team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and its colleagues measured the magnetic field using data from radio telescopes.

According to the report, it was discovered with the help of IIA radio telescopes in Gauribidanur, Karnataka, as well as some space-based telescopes that observed the Sun in extreme ultraviolet and white light, and it was discovered when the base of its activity was just behind the visible limb of the Sun. It enabled the researchers to identify a considerably weaker radio emission known as thermal (or blackbody) radiation from the gas plume expelled by the CME.

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The polarisation of the emission, which indicates the direction in which the electric and magnetic components of the waves fluctuate, was also measured by the scientists. Using this information, they estimated the physical characteristics of the ejected plasma. The findings of R. Ramesh, A. Kumari, C. Kathiravan, D. Ketaki, and T. J. Wang's investigation have been published in the prestigious international journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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