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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed into space recently – will be able to observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, this occurs roughly every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – 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 transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out in any direction, including towards our planet. At top speed, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be 10 or more daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the key scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, since events that take place on the Sun endanger systems on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet by causing magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from Sun are travelling toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, disable electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving six million people without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at the source and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off power grids and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other space observatories watching our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the solar disk permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare to let scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers worked together analyzing the data gathered from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Although the numbers make it sound massive, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions with energy content equal to even more than that.

"I consider the CME we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The insights gained will help us developing the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.