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For Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, it comes roughly every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles changing places.

This period of great turbulence. It involves the Sun changing from calm to stormy and features a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of fire that blow out from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, we expect there will be 10 or more each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the star in the center of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on Earth and in space.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to human life, but they do affect life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays from solar eruptions are auroras, being direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist explains.

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

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, causing chaos across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at origin and track its path, it can work as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other space observatories observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, researchers collaborated to study information gathered from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

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

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to even more than that.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will assist in work out protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.