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Regarding Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, this occurs roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It sees our star transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs is one of the most important research goals of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Space Infrastructure

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft fail, knock down power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed flight operations, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at origin and watch its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to shut down power grids and satellites redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other solar missions watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 has an advantage over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers worked together analyzing information gathered from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller in scale respectively.

Although the numbers make it sound massive, the expert classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The learnings from this will assist in developing the countermeasures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in orbit. They will also help achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he adds.