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Regarding Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

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

According to research, it comes approximately every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. One, because the ejections offer a chance to study the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, since events that take place on the solar surface endanger systems on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, being direct evidence that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the expert explains.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving six million people without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see events in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions observing the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show how strong of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers collaborated analyzing the data gathered from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though these figures make it sound incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we analyzed happened during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The learnings gained will assist in developing the countermeasures to implement to protect spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.