Knowledge Booster: Solar Flares

Why in the News?

• Aditya-L1 Mission captured a solar flare ‘kernel’ in the lower solar atmosphere.

• NASA launched its Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission on March 11th, 2025.

• Increase in the solar mission has to do with the solar cycle.

Key Takeaways

1. Solar Flare ‘Kernel’ Detection:

   • Detected by the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) on board the Aditya-L1 mission.

   • Observed an X6.3-class solar flare on February 22, 2024.

2. Solar Maximum:

   • Present solar activity suggests that the solar cycle may be nearing its maximum.

   • Scientists believe that the solar maximum is the best possible window available to both launch and observe the sun.

3. Solar Cycle:

   • The sun has a magnetic field with north and south poles.

   • Every 11 years, the Sun’s magnetic field completely flips.

4. Solar Maximum:

   • The Sun is at its most active when the magnetic field flips.

   • The star can send out more frequent and intense bursts of radiation and particles into space.

5. Sunspots:

   • Small, dark, and cooler areas where the magnetic field is particularly strong.

   • The number of sunspots is highest during the solar maximum and least during the solar minimum.

6. Solar Flares and CME:

   • During the solar cycle, the solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME) increase.

   • Solar flares release huge bursts of radiation and energetic particles.

   • In CMEs, the sun throws out large amounts of plasma and magnetic fields.

7. Impact:

   • Events can disrupt radio communications, affect satellite operations, interfere with power grids, and pose risks to astronauts and airline passengers.

   • A major solar storm (solar flare) can cause GPS and navigation systems to fail, damage power grids, cause intense auroras, disturb satellite orbits, and interrupt shortwave radio communication of aircraft.

Solar Missions

1. Aditya-L1 Mission:

   • India’s first solar mission, launched on September 2, 2023.

   • Objective: Expanding our knowledge of the Sun and its effects.

   • The mission had seven payloads. Two important payloads are the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VLEC) and the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT).

2. Proba-3:

   • Launched by the European Space Agency on December 5, 2024, through ISRO’s PSLV-C59 vehicle.

   • First-ever attempt at ‘precision formation flying’.

   • The two satellites—Occulter Spacecraft and the Coronagraph Spacecraft—will mimic a natural solar eclipse.

3. PUNCH Mission:

   • NASA’s Punch Mission was launched on March 11, 2025.

   • Uses four suitcase-sized satellites to observe the Sun and its environment.

   • Create a combined field of view and map the region where the Sun’s corona transitions to the solar wind.