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Regarding Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit 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 would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, the journey takes an ejection 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect them to be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun at the centre of our planetary system, and two, since events that take place on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose immediate danger to people, yet they impact our planet through generating magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, disable electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm in history was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving six million people without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at the source and watch its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to switch off power grids and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories observing our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers collaborated to study the data gathered from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

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

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he says.

"The insights from this will help us work out protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.