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

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed into space last year – will be able to observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs roughly every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves our star transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes an ejection about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun emits two to three CMEs daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be over ten daily."

Researching CMEs ranks among the key scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our solar system, and two, because activities that take place on the solar surface threaten infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, orbit.

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

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, disable power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting six million people without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe events on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at origin and watch its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to switch off power grids and satellites redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during solar events," notes the expert.

In other words, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare to let researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show how strong a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing the data gathered from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons in scale each.

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

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The insights gained will assist in work out the countermeasures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.