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

It's the first time the observatory – that entered in orbit recently – will be able to watch our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves our star transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, 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, the Sun launches two to three CMEs daily," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs is one of the key research goals of India's first solar observatory. One, because the ejections offer a chance to study the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, since events occurring on the Sun endanger infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose immediate danger to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays of a CME include northern lights, which are a clear example that solar particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist explains.

"However, they may make all the electronics on a satellite fail, disable power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm in history was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving six million people in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, causing chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to see what happens on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions watching our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

In other words, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show how strong of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing information obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller in scale respectively.

Although these figures make it sound massive, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed happened during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The insights from this will help us developing protective measures to implement to protect satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he adds.