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For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed into space recently – can observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves our star changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – 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 velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At top speed, the journey takes an ejection about half a day to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star launches a few solar eruptions a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect them to be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the key research goals 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 that take place on the solar surface endanger infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to human life, but they do affect life on Earth through generating geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted flight operations, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions watching the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," notes the expert.

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

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study solar events in visible light, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, scientists worked together to study information gathered from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although the numbers seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs with energy content equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he says.

"The insights gained will assist in work out the countermeasures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.