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For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space last year – can watch our star during its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes an ejection 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits a few solar eruptions daily," says a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events that take place on the solar surface threaten systems on Earth and in space.

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 conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, which are a clear example that charged particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite fail, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm in history was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving six million people in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, causing disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at origin and track its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

While 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 effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events in visible light, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated to study information gathered from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively.

Even though these figures make it sound incredibly large, the expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs with energy content equal to greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed happened during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The learnings gained will assist in developing protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in near space. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.