Chandrayaan-2 Observes Effects of the Coronal Mass Ejections from the Sun on the Lunar Exosphere
India’s Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter has made the first-ever observation of the effects of the Sun’s Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on the Moon.
Using the Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) onboard, observations showed an increase in the total pressure of the dayside lunar exosphere when the CME impacted the Moon.
- The total number density derived from these observations showed an increase by more than an order of magnitude.
- This increase is consistent with earlier theoretical models, which predicted such an effect.
CHACE-2 onboard Chandrayaan-2 has observed such an effect for the first time.
Author summary: Chandrayaan-2 observes Sun's impact on Moon.