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Regarding Aditya-L1, 2026 will be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space last year – can watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

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

This period of great turbulence. It sees the Sun transition from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun launches a few solar eruptions daily," says a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the most important research goals of India's first solar observatory. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun at the centre of our planetary system, and two, since events that take place on the Sun threaten systems on Earth and in space.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, being direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted flight operations, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and various European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see events in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at origin and watch its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 has an advantage over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare to let scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues that show the intensity of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

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

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

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

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we analyzed 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 says.

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