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For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space recently – can observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves our star changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out toward various directions, including towards our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, since events that take place on the Sun threaten systems on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting millions in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to see events on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at origin and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions observing the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument functions as a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses does only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data that show the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers worked together analyzing the data gathered from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively.

Even though the numbers seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we evaluated to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard for future comparison assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The learnings from this will assist in developing the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. They will also help achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.