News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that ISRO is planning to launch a satellite called Aditya L1 to study the sun.
Facts:
About Aditya L1
- It will be India’s first satellite to study the sun. It is scheduled to be launched in 2021 aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL) from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
- Aim: To study the Sun’s corona (outer layer of the sun) from a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point 1.
- Objectives:
o Realization and launch of a satellite in a Halo orbit around L1,
o Understanding solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics,
o Study of chromospheric and coronal heating and
o Observe the in-situ particle and plasma environment to provide data for the study of particle dynamics from the Sun.
Additional Information:
Lagrangian points:
- Lagrange points are the locations where the combined gravitational pull of two large masses roughly balance each other. Any small mass placed at that location remains at a constant distance relative to the large masses.
- There are 5 such points as shown in the diagram.
- The path followed by an artificial satellite around a Lagrange point is known as Halo orbit.
Coronal Mass Ejections: It is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona.
Solar Flare: It is an increased brightness on the Sun, usually observed near its surface and in close proximity to a sunspot group.
