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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed in orbit last year – can watch our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

According to scientific data, it comes roughly every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel 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.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and two, because activities that take place on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, but they do affect life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, being a clear example that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting six million people in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to shut down power grids and satellites and move them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other space observatories observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

In other words, this instrument functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare to let researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique that can study solar events in visible light, letting it measure eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show how strong a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated to study the data gathered from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

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

The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will help us developing protective measures to implement to protect satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.