Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)

19th June, 2023 Science and Technology

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Context

The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT), a unique space telescope developed by Pune’s Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), is now ready and has been delivered to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The telescope is set to be integrated with the ADITYA-L1 mission, expected to be launched in mid-August this year.

SUIT

About SUIT

The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) is an instrument onboard the Aditya-L1 spacecraft.

ADITYA L1

ADITYA L1 is the first dedicated solar mission of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which will be put in a halo orbit at the Sun-Earth Langrage point (L1).

ADITYA-L1 will be ISRO’s first space observatory dedicated to studying the Sun.

It will fly approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth to the L1, or Lagrange point 1, which is one of the five favorable spots for observing the Sun.

Aditya-L1 mission, it will take approximately 100 days to reach the halo orbit around the L1 point, where all seven unique payloads will carry out scientific observations.

The mission aims to provide regular images and updates on the Sun’s surface phenomena and space weather.

The Aditya-L1 mission will carry seven different payloads capable of studying various phenomena on the Sun across the electromagnetic spectrum and solar wind. Aditya-L1 will enable seamless measurement of solar radiation from Hard X-ray to Infrared, as well as in-situ measurements of particles in the solar wind and the Sun’s magnetic field at the L1 point.

Configuration of SUIT

SUIT has an off-axis Ritchey-Chrétien configuration with a combination of 11 narrow and broad bandpass filters which will be used for full-disk solar imaging in the Ultraviolet (UV) wavelength range 200-400 nm.

Mandate and Significance

It will provide near-simultaneous observations of the lower and middle layers of the solar atmosphere, namely the Photosphere and Chromosphere.
These observations will help to improve our understanding of the coupling and dynamics of various layers of the solar atmosphere, mechanisms responsible for stability, dynamics, and eruption of solar prominences and Coronal Mass ejections, and possible causes of solar irradiance variability in the Near and Middle UV regions, which is of central interest for assessing the Sun's influence on climate.
The SUIT telescope will address fundamental questions such as the existence of a higher-temperature atmosphere above the cooler surface of the Sun and the origin and variation of near-ultraviolet radiation and high-energy solar flares.
Through SUIT, there will be seamless measurement of solar radiation from Hard X-ray to Infrared, as well as in-situ measurements of particles in the solar wind, including the Sun’s magnetic field at the L1 point.