Aditya-L1 coronagraph shows coronal mass ejections do not expand evenly
3 November 2026
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics have used data from Aditya-L1 to study how a solar eruption grew as it left the Sun.
Until now a coronal mass ejection was pictured as a bubble that swells evenly on all sides.
The team looked at an eruption of 5 August 2024 from an active region near the Sun's western edge.
Readings from the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph were combined with images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and with three-dimensional modelling.
The expansion turned out to be lopsided, which gives the cloud an irregular shape.
That shape can change its speed and the time it takes to reach the Earth, so forecasts of space weather for satellites and radio links are affected.
The work has appeared in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
In plain words
VELC Visible Emission Line Coronagraph — The primary of Aditya-L1's seven payloads, which blocks the Sun's disc to study the corona.
CME Coronal Mass Ejection — A large cloud of plasma and magnetic field thrown out by the Sun.
IIA Indian Institute of Astrophysics — An autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, with its laboratory at Hosakote.