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For India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed in orbit recently – can observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – 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 number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of fire that blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel in any direction, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

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

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, since events that take place on the solar surface endanger systems on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites being lost

With capability to observe events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at origin and track its path, this serves as a forewarning to switch off power grids and spacecraft and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 has an advantage over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk permitting an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare allowing scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – something the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study solar events in visible light, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together to study the data gathered from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. 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 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the expert classifies 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 even more than that.

"In my view this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using assessing what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will help us work out the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in orbit. They will also help us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.