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Regarding Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be like no other.

It's the first time the spacecraft – that entered in orbit last year – can watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

According to scientific data, 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.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves our star transition from calm to stormy and features a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take an ejection about half a day to traverse the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun emits two to three CMEs daily," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, disable electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event in history was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting six million people in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disrupted flight operations, causing chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at the source and track its path, it can work as advanced warning to shut down power grids and satellites and move them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other space observatories watching our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers worked together to study the data obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons in scale each.

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

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions carrying power matching even more than that.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The insights from this will help us developing the countermeasures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.