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

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – can observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, 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 swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun changing from calm to stormy and features a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the Sun at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose immediate danger to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting millions in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed flight operations, leading to chaos in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to switch off power grids and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other space observatories watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues that show how strong a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together to study information obtained from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were much smaller in scale respectively.

Although the numbers seem incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions with energy content equal to even more than that.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The learnings from this will help us developing the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.