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For Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed into space last year – can observe the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

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

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "Next year, we expect them to be over ten each day."

Researching CMEs is one of the key research goals of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the star in the center of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun endanger systems on our planet and in space.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, being direct evidence that charged particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert clarifies.

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

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed flight operations, causing chaos across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe events on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions watching the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare to let researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data indicating how strong a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists collaborated to study information obtained from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although these figures seem massive, the expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs carrying power matching even more than that.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out protective measures to implement to protect satellites in near space. They will also help achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.