Solar wind particle experiment payload onboard Aditya-L1 starts operations: ISRO
Bengaluru (PTI): The Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment payload onboard India's Aditya-L1 satellite has commenced its operations and is performing normally, ISRO said on Saturday.
ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C57) on September 2 had successfully launched the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
Aditya-L1 is the first Indian space-based observatory to study the Sun from a halo orbit around first Sun-earth Lagrangian point (L1), which is located
roughly 1.5 million km from Earth.
In a statement, ISRO said Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX) comprises two cutting-edge instruments 'the Solar Wind Ion Spectrometer (SWIS) and SupraThermal and Energetic Particle Spectrometer (STEPS). The STEPS instrument was operational on September 10, 2023. The SWIS instrument was activated on November 2, 2023, and has exhibited optimal performance.
"SWIS, utilising two sensor units with a remarkable 360 field of view each, operates in planes perpendicular to one another," the statement read.
According to ISRO, the instrument has successfully measured solar wind ions, primarily protons and alpha particles.
A sample energy histogram acquired from one of the sensors over two days in November 2023 illustrates variations in proton and alpha particle (doubly ionized helium, He2+) counts, the agency said.
"These variations were recorded with nominal integration time, providing a comprehensive snapshot of solar wind behaviour," ISRO said.
The directional capabilities of SWIS enable precise measurements of solar wind protons and alphas, contributing significantly to addressing longstanding questions about solar wind properties, underlying processes, and their impact on Earth, the space agency explained.
"The change in the proton and alpha particle number ratio, as observed by SWIS, holds the potential to provide indirect information about the arrival of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) at the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point L1," ISRO said.
Enhanced alpha-to-proton ratio is often regarded as one of the sensitive markers of the passage of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) at the L1 and hence considered crucial for space weather studies.
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Jhansi: Dalit youngster assaulted, stripped after picking him up on pretext of giving cigarettes
Jhansi: A Dalit youngster was assaulted and humiliated by a group of men in a village under Premnagar police station limits on November 22, after being taken away on the pretext of being offered a cigarette. The incident came to wider attention after a video of the assault surfaced on Thursday.
According to the complaint, the youngster was standing near Goswami Restaurant in Rajgarh when Nishant Saxena, Sukrit and Kanishk approached him and asked him to accompany them. He was allegedly taken on a scooter to Saxena’s house, where two others Bhanu Pal and Ravindra were present. The group is accused of beating him with slippers, fists, kicks and sticks, abusing him with caste slurs, recording the assault on video and threatening him with a firearm, The Observer Post reported.
The video shows the youth being repeatedly slapped and kicked, forced to apologise, and made to touch one of the assailants’ feet. It also shows a man, identified as Saxena, pointing a firearm at him and ordering him to undress. The youngster is heard pleading with folded hands, saying he does not want to be taken to the police station.
CO Sadar Ramveer Singh said a case has been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. He confirmed that three accused Sukrit, Anand Nayak and Kanishk Ahirwar have been arrested, while the main accused, Nishant Saxena, remains absconding.
