Aditya-L1 and Proba-3 Study Two Solar Eruptions

Scientists combined observations from India’s Aditya-L1 mission and the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 spacecraft to study two coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, close to the Sun. The research, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, examined the eruptions’ mass, density and energy, including their early development in the inner solar corona. The two CMEs were observed simultaneously by Aditya-L1’s Visible Emission Line Coronagraph, known as VELC, and Proba-3’s ASPIICS instrument on September 14 and 16, 2025. In both cases, VELC captured the eruptions at an early stage. The researchers identified these as the only two CMEs recorded by both instruments between July and December 2025. The events differed in speed. The September 14 CME traveled at about 645 kilometers per second, while the September 16 eruption moved at about 145 kilometers per second. The slower event showed a steeper decline in density with height, which the researchers interpreted as stronger early expansion. The study also reported different energy patterns. Thermal energy accounted for about 1% of the September 14 CME’s total energy. In the September 16 event, thermal energy rose until it matched kinetic...