Aditya L-1 Captures First Glimpse of Solar Flares, ISRO Shares the News

New Delhi: Hel1OS, attached to Aditya L-1 solar mission by ISRO has captured the first high-energy X-ray glimpse of solar flares. ISRO shared on X that the  High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) spectrometer on board has recorded the impulsive phase of solar flares, during its first observation period from October 29.

ISRO explained that a solar flare is a sudden brightening of the solar atmosphere. “Flares produce enhanced emission in all wavelengths across the electromagnetic spectrum – radio, optical, UV, soft X-rays, hard X-rays and gamma-rays.”

ISRO wrote, “Commissioned on October 27, 2023, HEL1OS is currently undergoing fine-tuning of thresholds and calibration operations. The instrument is set to monitor the Sun’s high-energy X-ray activity with fast timing and high-resolution spectra.”

Aditya-L1 Mission:
HEL1OS captures first High-Energy X-ray glimpse of Solar Flares

🔸During its first observation period from approximately 12:00 to 22:00 UT on October 29, 2023, the High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) on board Aditya-L1 has recorded the… pic.twitter.com/X6R9zhdwM5

— ISRO (@isro) November 7, 2023

HEL1OS was developed by the Space Astronomy Group of the U R Rao Satellite Centre, ISRO, Bengaluru.

Aditya-L1 spacecraft is designed to provide remote observations of the solar corona and in-situ observations of the solar wind at L1 (Sun-Earth Lagrangian point) at a distance of around 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth.

It is India’s first dedicated space mission for observations of the Sun.