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

It's the first time the observatory – that entered in orbit last year – can observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately once 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 sees our star changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards our planet. At top speed, it would take an ejection about half a day to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the key research goals of India's maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, since events that take place on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, being direct evidence that charged particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the expert explains.

"However, they may make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at the source and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down power grids and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 has an advantage over others regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

In other words, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare to let researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining eruptions in visible light, letting it measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists collaborated to study information obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Even though the numbers seem massive, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The insights gained will assist in work out 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.