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For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 will be like no other.

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed into space recently – will be able to observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

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

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass of billions of tons and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out in any direction, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the star at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, since events occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME are auroras, being a clear example that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, disable power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event that disabled telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting six million people in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to chaos in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to see events on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other solar missions watching our star, Aditya-L1 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, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together analyzing the data gathered from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller in scale respectively.

Although the numbers seem massive, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions with energy content matching even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will help us work out the countermeasures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.