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Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

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

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves our star transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and reach a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out in any direction, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes an ejection 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect them to be 10 or more daily."

Researching CMEs is one of the most important scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, because activities occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, which are a clear example that solar particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the scientist explains.

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

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving millions without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at the source and watch its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument is the exact size 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 around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface to let scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique that can study eruptions in visible light, letting it measure eruption heat and thermal output – key clues indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing the data obtained from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

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

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively.

Even though these figures make it sound incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs with energy content equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed happened during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The insights from this will help us developing protective measures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.