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For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 will be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed into space recently – can observe our star during its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, it comes approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time 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 fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, our star emits two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the most important research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME are auroras, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, knock down electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event in history was the Carrington Event that disabled communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed flight operations, causing chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at the source and track its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories observing the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage over others regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses does only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show the intensity a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists collaborated to study information gathered from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were much smaller in scale each.

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

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he says.

"The insights gained will help us work out the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.