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

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It sees our star transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

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

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be over ten daily."

Researching CMEs ranks among the most important research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our solar system, and two, because activities that take place on the Sun endanger infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME are auroras, which are direct evidence that solar particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to observe events in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data indicating how strong of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, 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. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although the numbers seem incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we evaluated happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will help us work out the countermeasures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.