India's first space-based solar observatory, Aditya-L1, has helped scientists uncover an important detail about how powerful solar eruptions expand near the Sun. New research using observations from the spacecraft has revealed that a coronal mass ejection (CME) did not expand uniformly like a symmetrical bubble, but instead developed an asymmetric shape.
The findings, announced on November 3, 2026, were produced by scientists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology. The research combined observations from the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) aboard Aditya-L1, images from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and three-dimensional modelling.
Editorial Insight
Key Highlights
Important points readers should notice.
Issue/Event: Aditya-L1 observations reveal the asymmetric three-dimensional expansion of a solar eruption.
Location: India.
Authority/Organisation: Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Department of Science and Technology, ISRO and NASA.
Action Taken: Scientists combined VELC spectroscopy, solar images and three-dimensional modelling to reconstruct the eruption's structure.
Impact: The findings could improve understanding of coronal mass ejections and help refine future space-weather assessments.
The study examined a solar eruption observed on August 5, 2024. By combining different types of observations, researchers were able to reconstruct important aspects of the eruption's three-dimensional structure and movement.
A coronal mass ejection is a large release of hot, magnetised plasma from the Sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona. When these eruptions travel towards Earth, they can interact with the planet's magnetic environment and contribute to space-weather disturbances. Such events can affect satellites, communication systems and other space-based infrastructure.
One of the major challenges in studying these eruptions is that conventional observations often capture their movement across the sky in two dimensions. They may not fully reveal how plasma is moving towards or away from the observer.
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Why This Matters
Solar eruptions can release enormous quantities of magnetised plasma into space. If directed towards Earth, they may disturb the planet's magnetic environment and affect satellites, communication systems and other space-based infrastructure. Understanding the shape and movement of these eruptions is essential for estimating how quickly they travel and when they might interact with Earth. The Aditya-L1 findings offer scientists an additional way to investigate the three-dimensional behaviour of solar eruptions during their early stages. Better measurements could eventually contribute to more reliable space-weather modelling and preparedness.
Aditya-L1's VELC instrument helped address this limitation through spectroscopy. It recorded changes in the light emitted by the hot plasma, allowing scientists to examine its motion along the line of sight.
The research team identified two distinct Doppler-shifted emission features. These indicated plasma moving both towards and away from the observer. Scientists combined this information with images from NASA's SDO spacecraft to understand how the eruption was expanding in three dimensions.
Researchers then developed a three-dimensional geometric and kinematic model of the event. A model based on symmetrical expansion could not reproduce the observed spectral pattern. However, a model incorporating an inclined axis and uneven lateral expansion produced results consistent with the measurements.
The findings provide evidence that the eruption expanded asymmetrically in the lower solar corona, rather than behaving like a uniformly expanding spherical structure.
The discovery is important because the shape of a solar eruption can influence how it travels through interplanetary space. Different structures may experience different levels of drag from the solar wind, potentially affecting their speed and arrival time near Earth.
For satellite operators, communication networks and space-weather researchers, understanding these processes is important for improving assessments of possible disturbances. However, the study does not announce an imminent solar storm or establish that a particular eruption is currently heading towards Earth.
The research also demonstrates the scientific value of combining Aditya-L1's observations with data from other space missions. VELC's ability to measure plasma movement along the line of sight could help scientists investigate the early development of future solar eruptions.
The study, titled "Spectroscopic Signatures of Nonuniform Lateral Expansion of a Coronal Mass Ejection in the Low Corona with ADITYA-L1/VELC", has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
