News Highlights

• Prediction of the solar cycle is challenging, however, essential as the solar activity drives space weather, which sometimes has hazardous effects on our space-based society. Several predictions for the amplitude of the ongoing Solar Cycle 25 have been made but it was still not clear how strong the cycle is going to be. We have recently shown that the ongoing Solar Cycle 25 is going to be a little stronger than the previous cycle. Here is the research paper: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022arXiv220311494K/abstract.    We have also shown that the amplitude of the solar cycle can be predicted after about three years of the previous cycle polar field reversal (or a few years before the solar cycle minimum which is the usual time of the solar cycle prediction. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021ApJ...909...87K/abstract 

• Reconstructed the solar surface magnetic field for the first time during 1915--1965 using Kodaikanal Solar Observatory data. This work is an outcome of the Indo-Russian bilateral collaboration. The research paper has been published in ApJL. The work has been highlighted on different platforms: DST, The Hindu, Anandabajar

• Mapped the magnetic field in the solar corona for the first time globally with an international team; the research has been published in a prestigious journal Science, The work has been highlighted in Bengali newspaper: Anandabajar 

• Science Nugget based on our paper:  Magnetic Field Dependence of Bipolar Magnetic Region Tilts on the Sun: Indication of Tilt Quenching

• Received a prestigious INSA Young Scientist Medal (2019) from Indian National Science Academy. 

• Became the Active Member (Junior Member) of International Astronomical Union (IAU).

• Science nuggets on the explanation of the double-peaks in the solar cycles; Also, see the published paper. 

• A science nugget published based on our recent work: Solar magnetic cycle and its variability in a 3D Babcock-Leighton dynamo model.

• Received prestigious:  ​​ ​​

       (i) Humboldt Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany (2021-2022).
        (ii) Ramanujan Fellowship from SERB/DST, India (2018-2023)

       Recent News From Our Group 

Prediction based on the polar field rise rate suggests that Solar Cycle 25 will be slightly stronger than Cycle 24

 Our latest work was published in HMI Science Nuggets on April 28th 2022. A new model, which explores the polar field build-up rate and the amplitude of the following cycle, predicts a slightly stronger Cycle 25 than previously thought. t shows physical link of the polar field buildup with the Waldmeier Effect broadens the scope of early solar cycle prediction: Cycle 25 is likely to be slightly stronger than Cycle 24.