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

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed in orbit last year – can observe the Sun during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles changing places.

This period of great turbulence. It involves our star 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 plasma that blow out from the solar corona.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel in any direction, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes an ejection about half a day to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits two to three CMEs daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the key research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and two, because activities that take place on the solar surface threaten systems on Earth and in space.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to people, but they do affect life on Earth through generating geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME are auroras, being a clear example that charged particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may make all the electronics aboard spacecraft fail, knock down power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The most powerful solar storm in history was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving six million people without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see events on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at origin and watch its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to switch off power grids and satellites and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other solar missions observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data that show how strong a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers collaborated analyzing information obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though the numbers seem massive, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME 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 help us developing the countermeasures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.