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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space recently – will be able to observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees our star changing from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out in any direction, including towards our planet. At top speed, the journey takes an ejection about half a day to traverse the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or quiet periods, our star launches two to three CMEs daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun in the center of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact life on Earth through generating geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the scientist explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm in history occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving six million people in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to see events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at origin and track its path, 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 observing the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data indicating the intensity of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers worked together analyzing information obtained from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

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

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard for future comparison to evaluate what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The learnings from this will help us work out 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 concludes.