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For India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be truly unique.

It's the first time the observatory – that entered into space last year – can observe our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves our star transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take an ejection about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star launches a few solar eruptions daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be over ten daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections offer a chance to study the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun endanger infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose immediate danger to people, but they do affect life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, which are a clear example that charged particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite fail, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event that disabled communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to see events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other space observatories watching the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues indicating how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers collaborated to study the data obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were much smaller in scale each.

Although the numbers make it sound massive, the scientist classifies 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 greater levels.

"In my view the CME we evaluated happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard for future comparison assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will help us work out protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in near space. They will also help achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.