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For India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed into space recently – will be able to watch the Sun during its maximum activity cycle.

According to research, it comes approximately every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees our star transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes an ejection about half a day to traverse the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be over ten daily."

Studying CMEs is one of the key scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the solar surface endanger infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to people, yet they impact life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, being a clear example that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other solar missions watching our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining solar events in visible light, letting it measure eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers worked together analyzing the data gathered from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Even though these figures seem massive, the expert classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated happened during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The insights from this will assist in developing the countermeasures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.