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Regarding India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed in orbit last year – can watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves our star changing from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME 15 hours to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our solar system, and two, because activities that take place on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME are auroras, being direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar event in history was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, causing disruption across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at origin and watch its path, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other solar missions observing our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique that can study solar events in visible light, letting it determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers collaborated to study information gathered from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

Initially, the heat 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 much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though the numbers seem massive, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs with energy content matching even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we evaluated happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will help us work out the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in orbit. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.