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Regarding Aditya-L1, the year 2026 will be truly unique.

It's the first time the spacecraft – that entered in orbit last year – will be able to observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs roughly every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It involves the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun launches two to three CMEs daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the key research goals of India's maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun endanger systems on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to people, but they do affect our planet through generating magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, which are direct evidence that solar particles from our star journey to Earth," the expert clarifies.

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

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, leaving six million people without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to switch off power grids and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – key clues that show the intensity of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, researchers collaborated analyzing information obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although the numbers seem massive, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to even more than that.

"In my view the CME we analyzed happened during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The insights from this will assist in work out protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.