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For Aditya-L1, 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed in orbit last year – will be able to watch the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs approximately every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves our star changing from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun launches a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to human life, yet they impact life on Earth through generating geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.

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

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving six million people without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to chaos in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at origin and track its path, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other space observatories watching our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

In other words, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare to let scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it measure eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, scientists worked together analyzing information obtained from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission 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 weighed much less.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

Although these figures seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs carrying power matching even more than that.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he states.

"The learnings from this will help us work out the countermeasures to be adopted to protect satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.