The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released its observations of the recent powerful solar storm that hit Earth on May 10th. The storm, categorized as a G5-level geomagnetic event, was the strongest to impact Earth in decades. ISRO revealed the India-related effects of the storm, noting that the country was less affected due to its lower latitude and the early morning occurrence of the storm’s peak impact. The organization also highlighted the observations made by its Aditya L1 and Chandrayaan-2 missions during the event.
India’s first solar mission, Aditya L1, successfully launched on September 2nd, carrying seven different payloads designed for detailed study of the Sun. The mission’s Solar wind Ion Spectrometer (SWIS) and Supra Thermal and Energetic Particle Spectrometer (STEPS) captured the enhancement of alpha particle and proton flux, indicating the solar eruptive event. Additionally, the X-ray payloads on-board Aditya-L1 observed multiple X- and M-class flares, while the in-situ magnetometer payload recorded the events as it passed by the L1 point.
India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission, despite not completing its mission objective, has a working orbiter that captured the signatures of the solar eruptive events from lunar polar orbit. The orbiter’s X-ray Spectrometer (XSM) autonomously identified the large solar flares and provided information about the local high energy particle environment. The Upper Level Discriminator (ULD) event light curve showed an enhancement in local charge particle concentration from May 9th onwards.
The observations made by ISRO’s Aditya L1 and Chandrayaan-2 missions provide valuable insights into the behavior of solar storms and their effects on Earth and the lunar environment. These missions continue to contribute to our understanding of solar activity and space weather.
