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For India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed in orbit recently – can observe the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, this occurs approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star launches a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet through generating geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays from solar eruptions are auroras, which are a clear example that charged particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting six million people in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted flight operations, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and various European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at the source and watch its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories observing the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size enabling it to nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events in visible light, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, scientists worked together to study the data obtained from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

Even though these figures seem incredibly large, the expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs with energy content matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we evaluated to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he says.

"The insights from this will assist in work out protective measures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.