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Regarding Aditya-L1, 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit last year – can watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, this occurs roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It sees the Sun changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to traverse the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect them to be over ten daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals of India's maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections offer a chance to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events that take place on the solar surface endanger systems on our planet 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 geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays of a CME are auroras, being a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting six million people without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to observe events in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare to let scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique that can study solar events in visible light, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data that show how strong a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated analyzing the data obtained from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

Although the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the expert classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard 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 to protect spacecraft in near space. They will also help us gain deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he adds.