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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be like no other.

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed into space recently – can watch the Sun during its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, this occurs approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out from the solar corona.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains a leading scientist. "Next year, we expect them to be over ten each day."

Researching CMEs ranks among the most important scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections offer a chance to study the Sun in the center of our solar system, and two, because activities occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to people, yet they impact life on Earth through generating geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, being direct evidence that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

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

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving six million people without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see events on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at the source and watch its path, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions watching our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers worked together to study the data obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic weighed much less.

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although these figures make it sound massive, the expert classifies 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, we could see eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will assist in work out the countermeasures to implement to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.