Aditya-L1: Aryabhatta Institute to organize workshop for students to analyse solar data

Led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), Aditya-L1 is India’s maiden space mission to the Sun wherein the space-based observatory will continuously image the star and observe coronal mass ejections, solar winds, flares and other activities. The mission is scheduled to be launched later this year.

Since April last year, Aries has hosted the Aditya-L1 Support Cell where researchers, students and scientists can get access to solar data online. The upcoming workshop is being organised under the support cell’s mandates towards skilling students and researchers in data analysis ahead of the mission launch and subsequent data generation.

Research institutes including ARIES, Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Kolkata, Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) and the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad are involved in the making of Aditya-L1.

For the maiden workshop, students pursuing MSc or integrated MSc in physics, integrated PhD, bachelor’s in technology or engineering can apply. The last day for sending online applications for the on-site workshop is June 4 and the participant list will be declared on June 6. The maximum student intake is 30. Further information is available on https://al1ssc.aries.res.in/workshop.html

The workshop will have hands-on training and data analysis along with lectures on relevant topics. Some of the key areas to be covered during the workshop include spectroscopic observations, Aditya-L1 mission and objectives, imaging analysis, polarimetric observations and in-situ observations of the solar atmosphere, time series analysis, numerical simulations, remote sensing and use of advanced computational tools like Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Participants can also get a chance to visit the institute’s 15 cm H-alpha telescope to record real-time solar observations.

The support cell plans to be equipped with a data catalogue of solar parameters and observations aimed at having a handy reference for students and researchers. The cell will be responsible for the development of software and tools to be used for solar data analysis post the mission launch.