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

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

According to scientific data, it comes roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves our star transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the frequency of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection 15 hours to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits two to three CMEs daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the most important scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the star in the center of our solar system, and secondly, since events that take place on the Sun endanger infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting six million people without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see events on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at the source and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions watching our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the expert.

In other words, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare allowing scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure eruption heat and heat energy – key clues that show how strong of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers collaborated to study the data obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

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

Although these figures seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs carrying power matching even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard for future comparison to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he states.

"The insights gained will assist in work out the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.