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Regarding Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space last year – can observe our star during its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun launches a few solar eruptions daily," says a leading scientist. "Next year, we expect them to be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important scientific objectives for the Indian 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 solar surface endanger systems on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays of a CME include northern lights, being direct evidence that solar particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm in history was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to observe events in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at origin and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other space observatories observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

In other words, this instrument functions as 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 eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study solar events in visible light, letting it measure eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show the intensity of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists collaborated to study information obtained from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though the numbers seem incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs with energy content matching greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The insights gained will assist in developing protective measures to implement to protect spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.