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For India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space recently – will be able to observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

According to research, this occurs approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It involves the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our solar system, and two, because activities that take place on the solar surface threaten systems on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact life on Earth through generating magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, 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, knock down electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its path, this serves as advanced warning to switch off power grids and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories watching our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, including during solar events," says the expert.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating how strong of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers collaborated to study the data gathered from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent 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 expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out prehistoric life on our planet carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we evaluated happened during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.