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For Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space recently – will be able to watch our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection about half a day to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be over ten daily."

Studying CMEs ranks among the key research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections offer a chance to study the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the solar surface threaten infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose immediate danger to people, but they do affect life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME are auroras, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, knock down power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event in history was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving six million people without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at origin and track its path, this serves as advanced warning to switch off power grids and spacecraft and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together to study information gathered from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

Even though the numbers seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will help us developing protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.