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For Aditya-L1, 2026 will be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed in orbit last year – will be able to watch our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

According to research, this occurs approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves the Sun transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass of billions of tons and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards our planet. At top speed, it would take an ejection 15 hours to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important research goals of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, since events occurring on the Sun endanger systems on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose immediate danger to human life, yet they impact our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being direct evidence that charged particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos across Scandinavia and various European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to see events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at origin and watch its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to switch off power grids and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other solar missions watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events in visible light, letting it measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues that show how strong of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together analyzing information obtained from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

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

Although the numbers seem massive, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The learnings gained will help us work out the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.