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

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed into space recently – will be able to watch the Sun during the peak of its solar cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star changing from calm to stormy and features a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection about half a day to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs daily," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be over ten daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun endanger systems on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to people, yet they impact our planet by causing geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from Sun are travelling toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, disable power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, leaving six million people without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at the source and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during solar events," notes the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, it's unique that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists worked together analyzing information obtained from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Even though the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The insights from this will help us work out protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. They will also help achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.