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

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to watch the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "Next year, we expect there will be 10 or more daily."

Studying CMEs ranks among the most important scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the solar surface endanger systems on our planet and in space.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME include northern lights, being direct evidence that solar particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, leading to chaos in Sweden and some other European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at origin and watch its path, it can work as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other space observatories watching the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," says the expert.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating how strong a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists collaborated to study information obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although the numbers make it sound massive, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The insights from this will assist in developing protective measures to implement to protect satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he adds.