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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered in orbit recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs approximately 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 of great turbulence. It involves the Sun transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Researching CMEs ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star in the center of our solar system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun threaten infrastructure on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to people, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, being direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey to Earth," the scientist explains.

"However, they may make all the electronics aboard spacecraft fail, disable power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and some other European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to see what happens on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at the source and watch its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage over others when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues that show how strong of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing information gathered from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

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

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we analyzed happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The learnings gained will assist in developing protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in near space. They will also help us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.