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Regarding Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs roughly every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and reach a speed of up to 3,000km each second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, since events occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays of a CME are auroras, which are a clear example that solar particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving six million people without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

With capability to see events on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at origin and watch its path, this serves as advanced warning to switch off power grids and satellites and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size enabling it to nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during solar events," notes the expert.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare to let scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events in visible light, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues that show the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated analyzing the data obtained from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs with energy content matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we evaluated happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out protective measures to implement to protect satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.