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Regarding Aditya-L1, the year 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space recently – will be able to watch our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It sees our star transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel in any direction, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun launches a few solar eruptions daily," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect there will be 10 or more daily."

Researching CMEs ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and two, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on Earth and in space.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, but they do affect life on Earth through generating magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, are stationed.

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

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm in history was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, causing disruption across Scandinavia and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, this serves as advanced warning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other solar missions watching the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – key clues that show how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated analyzing information obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

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

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although these figures make it sound massive, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions with energy content matching greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed happened during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he says.

"The learnings gained will assist in developing protective measures to be adopted to protect satellites in orbit. They will also help achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.