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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space last year – can observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs approximately every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It involves our star transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs is one of the key research goals of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections offer a chance to study the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events that take place on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to people, but they do affect life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, which are direct evidence that solar particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft fail, knock down power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar storm in history occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to see events on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories observing our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare to let scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, scientists worked together analyzing the data obtained from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

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

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs with energy content matching greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will help us developing the countermeasures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.