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For India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed in orbit recently – can watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees our star changing from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions daily," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Studying CMEs is one of the key scientific objectives of India's 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 that take place on the solar surface threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving six million people in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at the source and watch its path, this serves as a forewarning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions observing our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"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 solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

In other words, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare allowing scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists worked together analyzing the data gathered from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

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

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

Although these figures make it sound massive, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

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