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For Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space last year – can observe our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent could be the North and South poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – 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 can attain velocities of up to 3,000km 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 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect there will be over ten daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our planetary system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun threaten systems on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose immediate danger to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays from solar eruptions are auroras, being direct evidence that solar particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, knock down electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and various European airports
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at origin and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during solar events," says the researcher.

In other words, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique that can study eruptions in visible light, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing information obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale each.

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

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions with energy content matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME 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 occurs," he says.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out the countermeasures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. They will also help us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.