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For India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed into space recently – will be able to observe our star during its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, it comes roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves our star changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection 15 hours to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "Next year, we expect them to be 10 or more each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the most important research goals of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our planetary system, and two, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten systems on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth through generating geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to observe events in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – something the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues that show the intensity of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, researchers collaborated analyzing information 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 was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

Although the numbers seem massive, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs with energy content equal to greater levels.

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

"The insights from this will help us developing protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.