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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered in orbit recently – can observe our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It sees the Sun transition from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection 15 hours to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star launches a few solar eruptions daily," says a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun in the center of our solar system, and two, since events that take place on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to people, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey to Earth," the expert explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, leading to chaos in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at origin and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories watching the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare to let scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists collaborated to study information gathered from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated 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, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons in scale each.

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

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed happened during periods of typical solar activity. 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 gained will help us work out the countermeasures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. They will also help us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.