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For India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be like no other.

It's the first time the observatory – that entered into space last year – will be able to watch the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of fire that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions a day," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, we expect them to be 10 or more each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the star at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, since events that take place on the solar surface threaten infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from our star journey toward our planet," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may make all the electronics aboard spacecraft fail, disable electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the Carrington Event that disabled communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting six million people in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption across Scandinavia and some other European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe events on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions observing our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," says the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses does only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events in visible light, enabling it to measure eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show the intensity a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers collaborated analyzing information obtained from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although these figures make it sound incredibly large, the expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated happened during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard for future comparison to evaluate what is in store during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The insights gained will help us work out protective measures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in orbit. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.