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

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed into space recently – will be able to observe our star during its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, it comes roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves the Sun changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be 10 or more daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME are auroras, being direct evidence that charged particles from Sun are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event in history was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving six million people in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to switch off power grids and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers worked together analyzing information gathered from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated 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, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

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

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard for future comparison assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The insights gained will assist in developing protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. They will also help achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.