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Regarding India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 is expected to be like no other.

It's the first time the observatory – that entered in orbit last year – can watch our star during its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, it comes approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt 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 in any direction, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches a few solar eruptions daily," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be over ten each day."

Researching CMEs is one of the most important research goals of India's first solar observatory. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, since events occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to human life, but they do affect life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

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

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, knock down electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at the source and watch its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other solar missions watching the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," says the expert.

In other words, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing the data gathered from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

Although these figures seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he states.

"The insights from this will assist in work out protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.