The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram launches a Rohini sounding rocket from Thumba with equipment to investigate the effects of the annular solar eclipse on the atmosphere.
The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) launched a total of 10 Rohini series indigenous sounding rockets from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station and the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota to investigate the effects of the longest annular solar eclipse of this millennium, which occurred on15/01/2010, on the earth’s atmosphere.
A sounding rocket does not put anything into orbit. Instead, this type of rocket carries instruments in its nose that make measurements of the upper atmosphere as it ascends. This data is sent back via radio signals to the ground for scientists to analyse. Once the rocket’s fuel is exhausted, the rocket and its payload plummets to the ground. The ISRO website describes the various instruments carried by sounding rockets. In this case, sounding rockets were fired before, during and after the eclipse. This could have been done so that scientists could make appropriate comparisons and decide what changes had occurred in the upper atmosphere as a result of the eclipse.
The annular phase of the eclipse lasted about 11 minutes and eight seconds over Thumba.
When a solar eclipse occurs, there will be a sudden cut-off of solar radiation. This cut-off will affect the atmospheric structure and dynamics and there will be a large reduction in ionisation and temperature.
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