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For India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed into space last year – will be able to observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel in any direction, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star emits a few solar eruptions daily," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the most important research goals of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to people, yet they impact life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays of a CME include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the scientist explains.

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

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving six million people without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed flight operations, causing disruption across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at the source and watch its path, this serves as a forewarning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, including during solar events," notes the expert.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing the data obtained from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Even though these figures make it sound massive, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions with energy content equal to even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard for future comparison assessing what is in store during solar maximum arrives," he states.

"The insights gained will help us developing the countermeasures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.