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Regarding India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

It's the first time the observatory – that entered into space last year – can watch our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

This period of great turbulence. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass of billions of tons and reach a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME 15 hours to traverse the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the most important research goals of India's maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections offer a chance to learn about the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the solar surface endanger infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, are stationed.

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

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, disable electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to switch off power grids and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

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

"The instrument is the exact size enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare to let researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses does only during eclipses.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues that show how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing the data gathered from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass 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 used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

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

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions with energy content matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he says.

"The learnings from this will help us work out the countermeasures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in orbit. They will also help us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.