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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be like no other.

It's the first time the spacecraft – that entered in orbit last year – will be able to watch the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It sees 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 erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can head out toward various directions, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more daily."

Researching CMEs ranks among the most important research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to human life, but they do affect life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, which are a clear example that solar particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the expert explains.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite fail, knock down electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting six million people without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to observe events in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at the source and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

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

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique that can study eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data indicating how strong a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated to study the data obtained from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed happened during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will assist in work out protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.