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

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

As per scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees our star changing from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take an ejection about half a day to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "Next year, we expect there will be 10 or more daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among 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 solar system, and secondly, since events that take place on the solar surface threaten infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet by causing magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, orbit.

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

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar event in history occurred during the Carrington Event that disabled telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at the source and track its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during solar events," says the expert.

In other words, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions in visible light, enabling it to measure eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers worked together to study information obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively.

Although these figures seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights gained will assist in developing the countermeasures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.