In news
Indian Scientists, along with international collaborators, have measured the magnetic field of an eruption from the Sun's atmosphere (by observing the weak thermal radio emission associated with the erupted plasma for the first time), offering a rare peek to the interior of the Sun.
The study
- The study of the phenomenon happening in the Sun's atmosphere or the solar corona provides insights into the inner workings of the Sun.
- The Sun is an extremely active object, spewing out vast quantities of gas in many violent events and the corona is a region of very high temperatures, strong magnetic fields, and violent plasma eruptions.
- A class of such eruptions are Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs).
- CMEs are the most powerful explosions happening in our solar system. When a really strong CME blows past the Earth, it can damage the electronics in our satellites and disrupt radio communication networks on Earth.
- Hence, astronomers regularly study these events.
- This field of research helps to understand Space Weather.
- A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, along with their collaborators, used data from their radio telescopes to measure the magnetic field and other physical conditions of the plasma in a CME detected on 1 May 2016.
Source: PIB
