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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 into space recently – can watch our star during its maximum activity cycle.

According to research, it comes approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass of billions of tons and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches a few solar eruptions daily," explains a leading scientist. "Next year, we expect them to be 10 or more each day."

Researching CMEs is one of the most important research goals of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun endanger systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the scientist explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The most powerful solar storm in history occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting six million people in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see events on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at the source and track its path, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions watching our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare allowing scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing information gathered from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

Although these figures make it sound incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed happened during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will assist in developing the countermeasures to implement to protect satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.