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

It's the first time the spacecraft – that entered into space last year – will be able to observe our star during its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, it comes roughly every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves our star changing from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – 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 a speed of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes an ejection 15 hours to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the key scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth through generating magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME are auroras, which are a clear example that charged particles from Sun are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"However, they may make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, disable power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, record its temperature at origin and watch its path, this serves as advanced warning to switch off 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 over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists collaborated to study information gathered from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

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

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

The space rock that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions with energy content equal to even more than that.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights gained will help us work out protective measures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.