- When the sun is active, spectacular solar flares erupt that spread the solar proton events into interplanetary space.
- The CLASS payload on Chandrayaan – 2 sees SPE and CME events pass by from two intense bursts on the sun.
- Solar flares are identified in different strengths containing the A-class, followed by B, C, M, and X.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) says a considerable area of soft X-ray spectrometer (CLASS), the payload onboard Chandrayaan – 2 orbiters, has declared solar proton events that significantly raise human radiation exposure space.
ISRO stated on Wednesday, January 18th, The instrument is a robust circulation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), ionized material, and magnetic fields that, when it reaches Earth a few days later, causes a geomagnetic storm and fills the polar sky with aurora. They also said that the type of multipoint observations helps us to understand and recognize the propagation and its effects on various planetary systems.
When the sun is active, spectacular eruptions occur known as the Solar Flames that scatter energetic particles in interplanetary space. Most of these are high-energy protons that disrupt the space system and significantly increase human radiation exposure in the area. In addition, according to the space agency, they could produce large-scale ionization in the Earth’s middle atmosphere.
What are Solar Proton Events (SPE)
Solar Flares sometimes spew out the energetic particles known as Solar Events and SPEs. The majority of these are high-energy protons that influence space systems and considerably increase human radiation exposure in space. In addition, they can induce ionization on a vast scale in the Earth’s middle atmosphere.
ISRO, in a statement, mentioned that many large solar flares are accompanied by Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), accompanied by many violent solar flares, a substantial flux of ionized material, and a magnetic field, which arrives on Earth a few days later, causing a geomagnetic storm and illuminating the polar sky with an aurora.
Solar Flares
Solar flames are categorized based on their energy level. A-class is the most miniature, observed by B, C, M, and X. Each character represents a tenfold increase in energy output. For example, based on the ISRO’s categories, an M-Class Flair is ten times more intense than a C-Class Flair and one hundred times more intense than a B-Class Flair.
This specifies that an M-class flare is ten times stronger than a C-class flare and one hundred times stronger than a B-class flare. In addition, there is a finer scale from 1 to 9 within each letter class, which designates that an M2 burst is twice as intense as an M1 flare.
The CLASS sensor onboard the Chndrayaan-2 Orbiter observed SPE on January 20th owing to an M5.5 class solar flare. The CLASS equipment also spotted the January 18th CME event, as CMEs travel at a speed of roughly 1000 km/s and require about 2-3 days to reach Earth.
ISRO released the statement, mentioning that the GOES satellite misses this event’s signature because the Earth’s magnetic field shields it from such circumstances.
The event, however, was captured by Chandrayaan-2. In a release, such multipoint observations help us understand propagation and its influence on various planetary systems.
What about the GOES Satellite?
The GOES system is used by the National Weather Service (NWS) and the Meteorological Service of Canada for North American weather monitoring and forecasting. In addition, scientific researchers use the data to understand better the land, atmospheric, ocean, and climate interactions.
About the GOES satellite, ISRO explained on it in a statement that the mark of this event is missed by the GOES satellite, as the Earth’s magnetic field supplies covering from such circumstances. However, the event was documented by Chandrayaan-2.
