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For India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space last year – will be able to watch the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, it comes roughly every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star launches a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect there will be over ten each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, but they do affect life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the scientist explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving six million people without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to disruption in Sweden and various European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to see events on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at the source and watch its path, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other space observatories observing our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show how strong a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists worked together analyzing information obtained from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale each.

Even though the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard for future comparison assessing what is in store during solar maximum arrives," he states.

"The learnings from this will assist in developing protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.