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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed in orbit last year – can watch the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

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

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of fire that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME 15 hours to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun launches two to three CMEs daily," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, we expect them to be over ten each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events that take place on the solar surface threaten infrastructure on Earth and in space.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to people, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, being direct evidence that solar particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the scientist explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, knock down electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and various European airports
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at origin and track its path, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other space observatories watching the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during solar events," notes the expert.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – crucial data that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists worked together to study the data gathered from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were much smaller in scale respectively.

Although the numbers seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The learnings from this will assist in work out protective measures to be adopted to protect satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.