The first solar observatory dedicated to China to study the sun

The long mission

The observatory cost 900 million yuan (126 million US dollars) and is long overdue.

Weiqun Gan, an astrophysicist at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing and the expedition’s chief scientist, said Chinese scientists first proposed such a mission in the 1970s. temperament magazine.

“We always wanted to do something like this,” he added.

Currently, the Sun’s magnetic field is known to cause its energy emissions, but the relationship between the two remains a mystery. ASO-S will examine several wavelengths at the same time to correlate the rash with the underlying cause and reveal exactly what caused it.

Therefore, the Chinese scientist ASO-S Kuafu-1 is named after a giant from Chinese mythology who tried to capture and tame the sun. The instrument’s mission will last four years and will observe the Sun from an orbit 720 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.

Solar activity can affect the Earth.

This time frame will include the peak of the solar cycle 2024-25, which lasts an average of 11 years, Gann added. “In these peak years, we can see a lot of volcanic eruptions,” she explained.

ASO-S will focus on the basic physics of high-energy radioactive explosions known as solar flares and CMEs and their origins. This research will then provide a context for understanding other similar activities in other parts of the universe.

Space weather study and forecast

The mission will also assess how further solar flares and rocket eruptions occurred it can affect the earth While they interact with the planet’s atmosphere by studying the “space time” generated by the activity. On Earth, this weather is known to disrupt navigation systems and disrupt power grids.