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For India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 is expected to be like no other.

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – can watch the Sun during its maximum activity cycle.

According to research, this occurs roughly every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It involves the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take an ejection about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, our star launches two to three CMEs daily," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Researching CMEs ranks among the most important research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on our planet and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet through generating magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including many from India, are stationed.

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

"However, they may make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down electrical networks and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar event in history was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at the source and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions watching our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," notes the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique that can study eruptions in visible light, enabling it to measure eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers collaborated to study information obtained from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

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

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions with energy content matching even more than that.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will help us work out protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.