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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

According to research, it comes 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 our star changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun launches two to three CMEs daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten daily."

Studying CMEs is one of the most important research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections offer a chance to learn about the star in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun endanger systems on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the scientist explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm in history was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and various European airports
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites being lost

With capability to see events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft and move them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions observing the Sun, India's spacecraft 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 Sun's photosphere permitting an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together analyzing the data obtained from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg 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 respectively.

Although the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The insights gained will help us developing the countermeasures to implement to protect spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.