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For Aditya-L1, 2026 will be truly unique.

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

According to scientific data, this occurs approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves our star transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel in any direction, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect them to be 10 or more each day."

Researching CMEs ranks among the most important scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun at the centre of our planetary system, and two, because activities occurring on the Sun endanger infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, which are a clear example that charged particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, disable power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar event in history occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and some other European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to observe events on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at the source and track its path, it can work as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

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

"The instrument is the exact size enabling it to nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," says the expert.

In other words, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – something the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues that show how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists worked together to study information gathered from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

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

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The insights from this will help us work out the countermeasures to implement to protect satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.