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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed into space last year – can observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to research, it comes roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out in any direction, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes an ejection 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the star in the center of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact life on Earth through generating magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that charged particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, knock down power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm in history was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and some other European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at the source and watch its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other space observatories watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

In other words, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events in visible light, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show the intensity a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing the data gathered from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively.

Although the numbers seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs carrying power matching greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights gained will help us developing protective measures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.