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For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

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

As per research, it comes approximately every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards our planet. At top speed, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or quiet periods, our star emits two to three CMEs a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, we expect there will be over ten daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important research goals of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten systems on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to human life, but they do affect our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from Sun journey to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to observe events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at the source and track its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Additionally, it's unique that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure eruption heat and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together to study the data obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

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

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although the numbers seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions with energy content matching greater levels.

"In my view this eruption 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 during solar maximum arrives," he states.

"The learnings gained will help us developing the countermeasures to implement to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.