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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space last year – can watch our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun changing from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can head out toward various directions, 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 launches a few solar eruptions daily," explains a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important research goals of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to human life, but they do affect life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including 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 malfunction, knock down power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event in history occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, leading to chaos in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other space observatories watching our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Additionally, it's unique that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing information obtained from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

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

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Even though these figures seem incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

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