Scientists in Bengaluru are using observations from India’s Aditya-L1 mission and the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission to improve understanding of solar eruptions, the powerful events that can send vast amounts of charged particles and magnetic fields into space. The work highlights the value of coordinated space-based observations for studying how eruptions develop and travel away from the Sun.
Solar eruptions are more than spectacular astronomical events. When directed toward Earth, some can disturb the planet’s magnetic environment, affect radio communications and satellite operations, and create risks for spacecraft and power systems. Understanding their formation and movement is therefore an important part of space-weather research as humanity becomes more dependent on satellites and other space infrastructure.
Why studying solar eruptions matters
The Sun is an active star whose magnetic field continually changes. Magnetic energy can build up in the solar atmosphere and sometimes be released rapidly, producing flares, eruptions of plasma and large-scale disturbances in the solar wind. Some events remain confined near the Sun, while others send material outward into interplanetary space.
One particularly important phenomenon is a coronal mass ejection, or CME. A CME is a large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona. If such an eruption travels toward Earth, it can interact with the planet’s magnetosphere. The consequences depend on its speed, direction, magnetic structure and the conditions encountered along the way.
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Scientists want to understand what triggers these eruptions, how they evolve and how accurately their arrival and potential effects can be predicted. Better observations can help researchers test physical models and improve forecasts. This is especially relevant for satellites, astronauts, navigation systems, radio operators and electricity networks that can be affected by severe space-weather events.
What Aditya-L1 contributes
India’s Aditya-L1 is the country’s first dedicated space-based solar observatory. It operates around the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1, approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth in the direction of the Sun. This location allows the spacecraft to observe the Sun with a largely uninterrupted view, without the regular Earth occultations that affect some Earth-orbiting observatories.
Aditya-L1 carries instruments designed to study different parts of the Sun and the environment around it. Its observations can help scientists investigate the solar corona, magnetic activity, solar wind and the processes associated with eruptions. By collecting data across different wavelengths and measuring properties of solar particles and fields, the mission provides complementary views of how the Sun behaves.
Solar science often requires multiple kinds of measurements because no single instrument can capture every part of an eruption. Images can show the shape and movement of structures, while other observations can reveal changes in brightness, temperature, particles or magnetic conditions. Combining these measurements gives researchers a more complete picture than any one data stream could provide alone.
How Proba-3 adds another perspective
Proba-3 is an European Space Agency mission designed to demonstrate precision formation flying and enable observations of the solar corona. Its two spacecraft fly in a carefully controlled configuration so that one spacecraft can block the bright solar disc and create an artificial eclipse for the other. This arrangement allows the corona to be observed with a level of control that is difficult to achieve using a single conventional spacecraft.
The corona is the Sun’s outer atmosphere, extending millions of kilometres into space. It is far fainter than the solar disc, which makes direct observation challenging because intense sunlight can overwhelm the delicate structures scientists want to study. By creating an artificial eclipse in space, Proba-3 can help researchers examine the corona and track features associated with solar activity.
Formation flying is also a major technological achievement. The spacecraft must maintain their relative positions with high precision while travelling around Earth. Demonstrating that capability has potential applications beyond solar physics, including future missions that require multiple spacecraft to operate together as a single coordinated observatory.
Why combining the missions is valuable
Using Aditya-L1 and Proba-3 together can help scientists connect observations made from different instruments and viewing conditions. Solar eruptions are three-dimensional events that unfold over time. A single image may show a structure moving across the field of view, but it may not reveal its full geometry or explain how it relates to activity closer to the Sun’s surface.
Coordinated observations can help researchers follow an eruption as it develops, compare its visible structure with other solar measurements and test estimates of its direction and speed. If instruments observe related features at the same time, scientists can cross-check interpretations and reduce uncertainty about what the data show.
Combining missions does not automatically guarantee a definitive explanation. The data must be carefully calibrated, aligned in time and interpreted using physical models. Differences in viewing angle, instrument sensitivity and field of view can complicate comparisons. Nevertheless, complementary observations are a powerful way to investigate a complex system such as the solar atmosphere.
From solar activity to space weather
Space weather describes changing conditions in space driven largely by the Sun. It includes solar flares, energetic particles, variations in the solar wind and CMEs. These phenomena can affect Earth and the technologies operating around it, although the level of risk differs greatly from one event to another.
When a CME reaches Earth, its magnetic field can interact with the magnetosphere and trigger a geomagnetic storm. Such storms can increase currents in parts of the atmosphere and influence satellite drag, radio propagation and navigation accuracy. In severe cases, geomagnetically induced currents can pose challenges for some power-grid equipment. The effects depend on the event’s strength and magnetic orientation as well as Earth’s response.
Solar flares can also produce bursts of radiation that affect radio communications, particularly on the sunlit side of Earth. Energetic particles can present hazards for astronauts and spacecraft electronics. These different effects arise through distinct physical mechanisms, which is why space-weather monitoring requires several types of instruments and measurements.
Why prediction remains difficult
Forecasting solar eruptions is challenging because the Sun’s magnetic field is complex and constantly evolving. Scientists can observe signs of magnetic activity, but determining precisely when a major eruption will occur remains difficult. Once an eruption begins, its trajectory and speed can change, and its internal magnetic structure may not be fully known until additional observations become available.
Predicting the impact on Earth requires more than estimating whether a CME is heading in our direction. Its magnetic orientation is important because certain configurations can couple strongly with Earth’s magnetic field. The time between the eruption and its arrival also affects how much warning operators have to prepare systems and protect equipment.
Better observations near the Sun can improve the initial conditions used in forecasting models. Tracking an eruption through the corona can help researchers estimate its speed and direction earlier, while measurements from spacecraft farther out can refine forecasts as the event moves through space. Together, these approaches can improve situational awareness, even though uncertainty cannot be eliminated entirely.
India’s growing role in solar research
Aditya-L1 represents a significant step in India’s space-science programme. Its observations give Indian researchers direct access to data about solar activity and provide opportunities to contribute to international research on the Sun. The mission also builds on India’s growing experience in designing and operating scientific spacecraft.
Solar research has practical importance for a country that relies increasingly on communications satellites, navigation services, weather monitoring and space-based infrastructure. Understanding the Sun’s behaviour can help agencies assess risks to spacecraft and improve preparedness for disruptive space-weather events. The science also contributes to fundamental questions about how stars release energy and influence the environments around them.
Bengaluru is a major centre for India’s space and scientific research ecosystem, with institutions and teams involved in spacecraft development, data analysis and space science. Research linking observations from different missions demonstrates how scientific progress often depends on collaboration among instrument teams, mission operators and researchers who specialise in different parts of the problem.
International cooperation in space science
The use of observations from an Indian mission alongside a European mission illustrates the international nature of modern solar research. Space missions are expensive and technically demanding, and collaboration allows researchers to combine instruments, expertise and perspectives that would be difficult for any one programme to provide alone.
Cooperation can also improve the scientific value of data already being collected. When two observatories measure related phenomena from different locations or with different techniques, researchers can use the overlap to validate findings and identify gaps in existing models. Coordinated observing campaigns can be particularly useful for transient events, which may evolve significantly over a short period.
Such partnerships require careful planning, common standards and transparent data analysis. Researchers need to understand each instrument’s limitations and ensure that comparisons are scientifically valid. When these conditions are met, joint observations can help deliver results that are more robust and useful to the wider scientific community.
What scientists may learn next
Continued observations from Aditya-L1 and Proba-3 could help researchers investigate the structure of the corona, the movement of eruptive features and the processes that connect activity near the Sun to material travelling through space. Scientists can compare observations with simulations to test competing explanations for how eruptions form and evolve.
Researchers will also need to evaluate how well the observations improve practical space-weather forecasts. Scientific understanding and operational prediction are related but not identical goals. A study may reveal new details about the shape of an eruption without immediately improving the accuracy of arrival-time estimates. Forecasting advances generally emerge from repeated observations, model development and validation against many events.
The value of these missions will therefore accumulate over time. Each well-observed eruption can add evidence, reveal limitations in current models and help guide future instruments. As more data become available, scientists can build a more detailed understanding of the Sun’s dynamic atmosphere and the processes that influence the space environment around Earth.
Conclusion
The work involving Bengaluru scientists, Aditya-L1 and Proba-3 highlights how coordinated space observations can advance the study of solar eruptions. Aditya-L1 provides a dedicated Indian platform for observing the Sun, while Proba-3 uses precision formation flying to create an artificial eclipse and examine the faint solar corona. Together, their complementary capabilities can help researchers investigate how eruptions form and move through the space environment.
The research matters beyond astronomy. Solar eruptions can affect satellites, communications, navigation and power infrastructure, making improved understanding an important part of space-weather preparedness. Prediction remains difficult, but better observations and stronger scientific collaboration can reduce uncertainty and improve the evidence used in forecasting.
As India expands its space-science capabilities and international partnerships continue, missions such as Aditya-L1 and Proba-3 show how advanced observations can contribute to both fundamental science and practical understanding of the Sun’s influence on Earth.
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