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Regarding India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered in orbit last year – will be able to observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to research, this occurs approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees our star transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions a day," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the Sun at the centre of our planetary system, and two, because activities that take place on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

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

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm in history was the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting millions without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disrupted flight operations, causing chaos in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at origin and watch its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to shut down power grids and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses does 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 thermal output – crucial data indicating the intensity of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together analyzing information obtained from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

Although these figures seem incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

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

"I consider this eruption we evaluated to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard that we'll be using assessing what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out the countermeasures to implement to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.