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

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed into space recently – can observe our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs roughly every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – 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 transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME 15 hours to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs is one of the most important research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the star in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to people, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME are auroras, being a clear example that charged particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the scientist explains.

"But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at the source and watch its path, this serves as a forewarning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare to let scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers worked together analyzing the data gathered from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

Although these figures make it sound massive, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to even more than that.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard for future comparison to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The insights gained will assist in developing protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. They will also help us gain deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he adds.