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Regarding Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, it comes roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect there will be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our planetary system, and two, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to people, but they do affect our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, being direct evidence that solar particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event in history occurred during the Carrington Event that disabled communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and track its path, it can work as advanced warning to switch off power grids and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare to let scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists worked together to study the data obtained from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller in scale respectively.

Even though the numbers seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to even more than that.

"I consider the CME we evaluated happened during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he says.

"The learnings from this will help us work out the countermeasures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.