The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope on board Aditya-L1

TL;DR

The SUIT instrument on the Aditya-L1 mission provides comprehensive ultraviolet imaging of the Sun, enabling new insights into solar atmospheric dynamics and UV irradiance variability crucial for Earth's atmospheric chemistry.

Contribution

This paper introduces the SUIT instrument's design, capabilities, and data products, marking the first time UV broad-band measurements are used to study solar irradiance variability.

Findings

SUIT captures near-simultaneous full-disk solar images in UV wavelengths.

First measurements of spatially resolved solar UV broadband radiation.

Data helps understand solar atmospheric magnetic coupling and irradiance variability.

Abstract

The Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) is an instrument on the Aditya-L1 mission of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched on September 02, 2023. SUIT continuously provides, near-simultaneous full-disk and region-of-interest images of the Sun, slicing through the photosphere and chromosphere and covering a field of view up to 1.5 solar radii. For this purpose, SUIT uses 11 filters tuned at different wavelengths in the 200{--}400~nm range, including the Mg~{\sc ii} h~and~k and Ca~{\sc ii}~H spectral lines. The observations made by SUIT help us understand the magnetic coupling of the lower and middle solar atmosphere. In addition, for the first time, it allows the measurements of spatially resolved solar broad-band radiation in the near and mid ultraviolet, which will help constrain the variability of the solar ultraviolet irradiance in a wavelength range that is central for the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere. This paper discusses the details of the instrument and data products.