Study probes how ejections from Sun’s corona influence space weather predictions crucial for monitoring satellites
Published By : Prameya News Bureau | September 21, 2021 IST
Share
New Delhi, Sept 21: A recent study has shown how conditions and events in the solar atmosphere like coronal mass ejections influence the accuracy of space weather prediction, which is crucial for the health of our satellites. This understanding will aid the interpretation of data from the upcoming Aditya-L1, India's first solar mission. Space weather refers to the conditions in the solar wind and near-Earth space, which can adversely affect the performance of space-borne and ground-based technological systems. The space weather near the Earth is mainly due to Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), which are frequent explosive expulsions of huge magnetized plasma from the Sun into its surroundings, which can blow past the Earth. Example of space weather events is the geomagnetic storm, a perturbation in the Earth’s magnetic field, which can last for few hours to few days. Understanding of how events in the solar atmosphere influence space weather is necessary for monitoring and maintaining our satellites. In the present work, astronomers led by Dr. Wageesh Mishra of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. Of India showed that plasma properties and Earth arrival times of CMEs from the Sun can vary substantially with longitudinal locations in the interplanetary space. This research is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomy journal and is co-authored by Kunjal Dave from C.U. Shah University, Gujarat, Prof. Nandita Srivastava from Physical Research Laboratory, Udaipur, and Prof. Luca Teriaca from the Max Planck Institute of for the Solar System Research, Germany. In this research, the team studied the Earth-directed CMEs and interplanetary counterparts of CMEs (ICMEs). With access to publicly available plasma measurements in situ at three locations in the Solar System, -- two of NASA’s STEREO spacecraft and the LASCO coronagraph onboard SOHO located near the first Lagrangian point (L1) on the Sun-Earth line, they reconstructed a 3D view of the CMEs & ICMEs. The two events that are the basis of the present study are the ICMEs of 11th March and 6th August 2011 (which is when they arrived at Earth). Using multi-point remote and in situ observations, the study investigated the differences in the dynamics, arrival time, plasma, and magnetic field parameters of ICME structures at the locations in the heliosphere where the different satellites are located. The team explains Sun emits a continuous stream of charged particles called the Solar Wind. The two selected events were ideal for studying the effects of the CME shocks moving through the solar wind. “We found that plasma characteristics and arrival times of a CME-driven shock, propagating in a pre-conditioned inhomogeneous medium, may be different at different longitudinal locations in the heliosphere,” said Wageesh Mishra, the lead author. The study highlights the difficulties in connecting the local observations of an ICME from a single in situ spacecraft to its global structures and explains that accurate prediction of large CME structures at any location in the heliosphere is challenging. It emphasized that lack of information about the pre-conditioned ambient solar wind medium can severely limit the accuracy of CME arrival time and space weather prediction. This new understanding will aid the interpretation of data from space missions.
News7 Is Now On WhatsApp Join And Get Latest News Updates Delivered To You Via WhatsApp
You Might Also Like
More From Related News
Snapchat logs significant growth in daily active users globally
Innovative AC Helmets Developed by IIM Students to Tackle Summer Heat for Vadodara Traffic Police
UiPath launches two new data centres in India
India carries out successful launch of medium-range ballistic missile's new version
Indian IT leaders expect higher budget allocations for GenAI initiatives
BharatPe launches India's first all-in-one payment device
Experience unparalleled features with realme NARZO 70 5G & NARZO 70x 5G
Zomato hikes mandatory platform fee by 25pc
WhatsApp reportedly testing "quick reaction feature for status updates"
Tesla cars to soon have an integrated X experience: Elon Musk
Blue Whale: The dangerous online game behind tragic losses
Dell launches AI-powered laptops, mobile workstations in India
Team of researchers from IIT Roorkee finds giant ancient snake fossil in Gujarat
China hiding military presence in space: NASA Chief
realme P Series to go on sale from April 22
Semiconductor chips driving innovation in tech
Fintech firm BharatPe appoints Nalin Negi as CEO
Edtech major upGrad creates 55k jobs in FY24
IIT Kanpur excels in data science & AI categories in QS World University Rankings
ChatGPT is now more direct and less verbose: OpenAI