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Regarding India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to watch our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

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

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves our star changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take an ejection 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits two to three CMEs a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and two, because activities occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to people, yet they impact life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, disable electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting six million people in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique that can study eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show the intensity of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, researchers collaborated analyzing the data obtained from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that sank Titanic weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

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

The space rock which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to even more than that.

"I consider the CME we analyzed happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The insights gained will help us developing the countermeasures to implement to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.