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For India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be like no other.

It's the first time the observatory – that entered into space recently – can watch the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star transition from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel in any direction, including towards our planet. At top speed, it would take an ejection 15 hours to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on our planet and in space.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet by causing magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, which are direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, knock down power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event that disabled telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting six million people without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at the source and track its path, it can work as a forewarning to shut down power grids and spacecraft redirecting them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions observing our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage over others regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk permitting continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events in visible light, letting it measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating how strong a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers collaborated analyzing the data obtained from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale each.

Although the numbers make it sound massive, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to even more than that.

"In my view the CME we analyzed happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The insights from this will assist in work out the countermeasures to be adopted to protect satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.