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Regarding Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered in orbit last year – can watch the Sun during the peak of its solar cycle.

According to research, this occurs roughly 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 marked by intense activity. It sees 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 blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the key research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, knock down power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and various European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other solar missions watching the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

In other words, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare to let researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers worked together to study the data obtained from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although these figures seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he states.

"The learnings from this will help us developing protective measures to be adopted to protect satellites in near space. They will also help us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.