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

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space last year – can watch our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves our star transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can head out toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take an ejection 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions daily," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect them to be over ten daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the star at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun endanger systems on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

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

"The most spectacular displays of a CME are auroras, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star journey to Earth," the scientist explains.

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

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm in history was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting six million people without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at the source and watch its path, 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 solar missions observing the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," says the expert.

In other words, this instrument functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique that can study solar events in visible light, enabling it to measure eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption when traveling toward Earth.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated analyzing information obtained from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

Even though the numbers make it sound massive, the expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out the countermeasures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.