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For Aditya-L1, 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed into space recently – will be able to watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

According to research, it comes roughly every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees our star changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, the journey takes an ejection 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun emits two to three CMEs daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect them to be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the key scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star in the center of our solar system, and two, because activities occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, disable electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event in history was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at the source and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other space observatories watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study solar events in visible light, enabling it to determine eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data indicating how strong of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing information gathered from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he says.

"The insights from this will assist in work out the countermeasures to implement to protect satellites in near space. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.