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

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

According to research, this occurs approximately every 11 years when 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 transition from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs daily," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun in the center of our solar system, and two, because activities occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to people, yet they impact our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that solar particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm in history occurred during the Carrington Event that disabled communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, leaving millions without power for hours
• In November 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 dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to shut down power grids and satellites redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions in visible light, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together to study the data gathered from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Although the numbers seem incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we evaluated happened during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The insights gained will help us developing protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.