Aditya: SWIS payload studying solar wind has also opened its eyes

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ISRO has announced that the second instrument on the Aditya L1 probe sent to observe the Sun has also opened its eyes. The Solar Wind Ion Spectrometer - SWIS- the second instrument in the Aditya Solar Wind Particle Experiment became operational on November 2. The main study instrument, the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, had became operational last month.

Aditya has seven instruments. The remaining five will be operational in the coming days. It is hoped that a comprehensive picture of the sun will be obtained with this. Aditya is rushing to the Legrange One Point, 15 lakh km from Earth.

SWIS studies protons and alpha particles in the solar wind. There are two sensors that collect information in 360 degrees for this. It works on surfaces that are perpendicular to each other. ISRO also released a histogram that graphically depicts two days of data collected by one sensor. By analyzing the data, we can learn more about the solar wind and how it affects Earth.

Aditya studies the Sun from Lagrange Point 1 (L1). The distance from earth to sun is 15 crore km. L1 is only one percent away from that distance. Lagrange 1 is one of the four points where the gravitational force of the Earth and the Sun are equal. The Sun can be observed unobstructed from here without the interference of the celestial spheres.

Aditya's tenure is five years and two months. The mission launched on September 2 and will arrive at Lagrange 1 on January 7.