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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed into space recently – can watch our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

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

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

Made up of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, the journey takes an ejection 15 hours to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more daily."

Researching CMEs ranks among the key research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun endanger systems on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME are auroras, which are a clear example that solar particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

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

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting six million people in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at the source and watch its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions watching the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare to let scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique that can study solar events in visible light, letting it determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing 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. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although the numbers seem 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 CMEs with energy content matching even more than that.

"I consider the CME we analyzed happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The learnings gained will help us work out the countermeasures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. They will also help us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.