For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 will be like no other.
This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.
According to research, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent would be the planet's poles changing places.
It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that blow out from the solar corona.
Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take an ejection 15 hours to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.
"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun launches two to three CMEs daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more daily."
Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, because the ejections offer a chance to study the Sun at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in space.
CMEs seldom present immediate danger to human life, but they do affect life on Earth through generating geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.
"The most beautiful displays of a CME include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the scientist clarifies.
"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."
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 a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.
There are other space observatories observing our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.
"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.
Essentially, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon does only during specific moments.
Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.
In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, scientists worked together to study information obtained from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.
This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.
At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.
Even though these figures seem massive, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.
The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power matching even more than that.
"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum arrives," he says.
"The insights from this will assist in work out the countermeasures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.
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