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Regarding Aditya-L1, 2026 will be like no other.

It's the first time the spacecraft – that entered into space recently – will be able to observe the Sun during its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be over ten daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events occurring on the Sun endanger systems on our planet and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME are auroras, being direct evidence that charged particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the expert explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• 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 failed, affecting millions in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and various European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to observe events in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories observing our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions 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, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," says the expert.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues that show how strong a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers worked together to study information gathered from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though the numbers make it sound massive, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be CMEs with energy content matching greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.