Chinese Satellite Kuafu-1 Launched To Observe Solar Flares and CMEs

The Chinese spacecraft Long March 2D has launched a satellite into orbit to monitor solar activity and space weather conditions.

(Photo: NASA-Imagery/Pixabay)
Rocket Lift Off

Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory Satellite

The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) satellite was launched from the Inner Mongolian Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center into its intended orbit, a sun-synchronous path roughly 450 miles above Earth. It was reported by the state-run media agency Xinhua (via Space.com).

According to Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) officials, ASO-S aims to observe flares and CMEs simultaneously to learn more about their interactions and formation processes. Additionally, the spacecraft will investigate how the sun's atmosphere's many layers transmit energy and how the solar magnetic field influences the growth of flares and CMEs.

ASO-S is made to last at least four years and produces 500 terabytes of data each day. This knowledge may end up having a lot of practical uses. It aims to help with space weather forecasting and protect valuable space assets.

Spacecraft and Instruments

According to the CAS, the Chinese heliophysics community first proposed the ASO-S mission in 2011. Three instruments will be used by the 1,960-pound (888-kilogram) probe to examine the sun's magnetic field, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

The Full-Disc Vector Magnetograph (FMG), the Hard X-Ray Imager (HXI), and the Lyman-Alpha Solar Telescope (LST) are among the satellite payloads.

The magnetic fields of the photosphere are measured over the complete solar disk by the Full-disk vector MagneoGraph (FMG). The longitudinal and transverse components' sensitivities in normal mode are 5G and 150G, respectively.

The Hard X-ray Imager (HXI), intended for solar flare studies, aims to scan the entire solar disk with good energy resolution in the high-energy region of 30 to 200 keV. The Sun will be imaged by the Lyman-alpha Solar Telescope (LST) from its disk's center outward.

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Solar Flares and CMEs

Massive blasts of extremely hot plasma known as CMEs shoot away from the sun at millions of miles per hour. Both solar flares and CMEs have the potential to have an impact on Earth. Strong CMEs, for instance, can cause geomagnetic storms that can interfere with GPS, radio communications, and power grids. CMEs can potentially supercharge the auroras as a mitigating side effect.

The flares have different classes. A-class flares are the smallest, while X-class flares are the most powerful.

According to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, these flares can be seen as intense flashes in a specific area of the sun and can last for many minutes.

Solar flares happen when magnetic energy accumulates in the solar atmosphere and is suddenly released. The solar cycle, an approximately 11-year cycle of solar activity governed by the sun's magnetic field, is heavily linked to these eruptions.

Sunspots are darker, cooler areas of the solar surface where magnetic fields are extremely strong, and these areas are where solar flares typically come from. As a result, the number of sunspots can predict the possibility of an explosion from a solar flare.