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

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

As per research, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun launches a few solar eruptions daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Researching CMEs is one of the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections offer a chance to learn about the star in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to human life, but they do affect our planet through generating magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, disable electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving six million people in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and some other European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see what happens on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its path, it can work as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories watching the Sun, 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, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing the data obtained from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Even though these figures make it sound incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to greater levels.

"In my view the CME we evaluated happened during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using assessing what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will help us developing protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. They will also help achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he adds.