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For India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space last year – can observe the Sun during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees our star changing from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel in any direction, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME 15 hours to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our solar system, and two, because activities that take place on the Sun endanger infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, which are direct evidence that solar particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting six million people in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to see what happens on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other solar missions observing our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the expert.

Essentially, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the solar glare to let researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining solar events in visible light, enabling it to determine eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing the data gathered from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

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

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we evaluated happened during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard for future comparison to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The insights gained will assist in work out protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.