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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered in orbit last year – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh 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 15 hours to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs daily," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections offer a chance to study the star in the center of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the solar surface endanger infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to human life, but they do affect life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star journey to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, knock down power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event in history was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

With capability to see what happens on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to shut down power grids and satellites and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other space observatories observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size enabling it to nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the expert.

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

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining eruptions in visible light, enabling it to measure eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

To prepare for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers worked together to study the data gathered from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

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

Initially, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale each.

Although these figures seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs carrying power matching even more than that.

"In my view the CME we evaluated happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will help us developing the countermeasures to implement safeguarding satellites in near space. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.