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Regarding Aditya-L1, 2026 will be truly unique.

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

As per research, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel in any direction, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun launches two to three CMEs daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more daily."

Studying CMEs ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the solar surface threaten infrastructure on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, being direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting six million people without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to see events on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at origin and track its path, it can work as advanced warning to switch off power grids and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other space observatories watching the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show how strong a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers collaborated to study the data obtained from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

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.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale each.

Even though the numbers seem massive, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed happened during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The insights gained will assist in developing protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.