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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be truly unique.

It's the first time the observatory – that entered in orbit last year – will be able to observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves our star transition from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star emits a few solar eruptions daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, we expect there will be over ten each day."

Researching CMEs ranks among the most important scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun endanger systems on Earth and in space.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to people, yet they impact life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms that impact 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 a clear example that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

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

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting millions in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining eruptions in visible light, enabling it to measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers collaborated to study information obtained from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

Even though the numbers seem massive, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions with energy content matching even more than that.

"I consider the CME we analyzed happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The insights gained will assist in work out the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.