India's ground-breaking Aditya-L1 mission is poised to capitalise on a rare astronomical event today as it tracks the behaviour of the Sun during a total solar eclipse.
This celestial spectacle, due to occur on April 8th, will see the Moon briefly cloak the Sun entirely, plunging parts of North America into darkness.
The phenomenon arises when the Sun, Moon and Earth align perfectly.
This temporary blackout presents a unique opportunity for Aditya-L1, ISRO's maiden solar mission.
Positioned at the L1 Lagrange Point - a point of gravitational stability 1.5 million kilometres from Earth - the spacecraft is ideally placed to study the Sun during this dramatic event.
Aditya-L1 boasts six instruments specifically designed to monitor the Sun. Two of these, the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) and the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT), will be instrumental in gathering vital data during the eclipse.
The eclipse will offer a fleeting glimpse of the Sun's corona, its outermost layer, which is typically obscured by the Sun's brilliance.
By observing this region during the eclipse, Aditya-L1 will shed light on the Sun's chromosphere and corona, furthering our understanding of solar phenomena.
The mission's broader goals encompass a deeper understanding of the Sun's influence on Earth, including the effects of solar winds, radiation and activity within the solar corona and photosphere.
The total eclipse, visible across swathes of North America, will be observable from major cities including Dallas, Little Rock, Indianapolis and Cleveland.
Sadly, for skywatchers in India, this celestial event will not be directly observable.
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