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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space last year – can observe the Sun during its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star launches a few solar eruptions daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs is one of the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections offer a chance to learn about the star in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the solar surface threaten infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to human life, but they do affect life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, being direct evidence that charged particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the scientist explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm in history was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to chaos in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to see events on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at origin and track its path, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft and move them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other space observatories observing the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

In other words, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare allowing scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, scientists worked together analyzing the data gathered from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale each.

Even though the numbers seem massive, the expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we evaluated happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The learnings gained will assist in developing protective measures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.