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

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles changing places.

This period of great turbulence. It involves our star changing from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles 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 reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out in any direction, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or quiet periods, our star emits two to three CMEs 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 key research goals of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, since events occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose immediate danger to people, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME are auroras, being a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event that disabled communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to switch off power grids and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during solar events," says the researcher.

In other words, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers collaborated to study the data gathered from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

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

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were much smaller in scale respectively.

Even though these figures seem incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed happened during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The learnings gained will help us work out protective measures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.