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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed into space last year – will be able to observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes roughly every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be over ten daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events that take place on the Sun endanger systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose immediate danger to human life, but they do affect our planet through generating magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, which are direct evidence that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

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

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting six million people in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted flight operations, leading to chaos in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at the source and watch its path, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions watching the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk permitting an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," says the researcher.

In other words, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating how strong a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers collaborated to study the data gathered from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began 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.

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights gained will help us work out protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.