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Regarding India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be truly unique.

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

According to research, it comes roughly every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma 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 head out toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take an ejection about half a day to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be 10 or more each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun in the center of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun endanger infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME include northern lights, being direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"However, they may make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm in history was the Carrington Event that disabled telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting six million people in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, causing disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to observe events in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at origin and track its path, it can work as a forewarning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, fully covering the solar disk permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together to study the data gathered from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although these figures make it sound incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions with energy content matching greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will assist in work out protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.