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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered in orbit recently – can observe the Sun during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees the Sun changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and reach a speed of up to 3,000km each second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be 10 or more daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, because the ejections offer a chance to study the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events that take place on the Sun endanger systems on our planet and in space.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, which are direct evidence that solar particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the scientist explains.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite fail, knock down power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at the source and watch its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other space observatories observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions in visible light, letting it measure eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together to study the data obtained from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively.

Although these figures seem incredibly large, the expert classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The insights gained will help us developing protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.