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For Aditya-L1, 2026 will be like no other.

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed into space last year – can watch the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed 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 travel toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star launches two to three CMEs daily," says a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections offer a chance to learn about the star in the center of our solar system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun endanger infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to people, but they do affect our planet by causing magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, which are direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting six million people in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to chaos in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to observe events on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its path, this serves as advanced warning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

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

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining solar events in visible light, enabling it to measure eruption heat and heat energy – key clues that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers collaborated analyzing information obtained from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although these figures seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.