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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 into space recently – will be able to observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

According to research, this occurs approximately every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees our star transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, our star launches a few solar eruptions a day," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs is one of the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the solar surface endanger infrastructure on Earth and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth through generating geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME include northern lights, being direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, disable electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, leaving millions in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions watching our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage over others when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the solar glare allowing scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating how strong a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing information obtained from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

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

The space rock which wiped out prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated happened during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in near space. They will also help us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.