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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed in orbit last year – will be able to watch our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

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

This period 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 coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – 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 velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out in any direction, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes an ejection about half a day to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, we expect them to be over ten each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun endanger infrastructure on Earth and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from our star journey to Earth," the scientist explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, causing chaos in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites being lost

With capability to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at origin and watch its path, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other space observatories watching our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data indicating how strong of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing the data obtained from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Even though the numbers make it sound massive, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions with energy content matching even more than that.

"I consider the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will assist in work out the countermeasures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. They will also help achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he adds.