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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space recently – can observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, it comes roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that blow out from the solar corona.

Composed of charged particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At top speed, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star launches a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect them to be 10 or more daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the Sun at the centre of our planetary system, and two, because activities that take place on the Sun endanger systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, but they do affect life on Earth through generating geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the scientist explains.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, knock down power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving six million people without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at origin and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions watching our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing the data gathered from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller in scale each.

Even though these figures seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store during solar maximum arrives," he states.

"The insights from this will help us work out the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.