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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 in orbit last year – can observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

According to research, it comes roughly 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 sees our star transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of ionized 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 head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect them to be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the star at the centre of our planetary system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun endanger systems on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to human life, but they do affect life on Earth through generating magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME are auroras, which are direct evidence that solar particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, knock down power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting six million people without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show how strong a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

To prepare for next year's peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated analyzing the data obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Although the numbers seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The learnings gained will help us developing protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.