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For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space recently – will be able to watch the Sun during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves our star transition from calm to stormy and features a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions 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 exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the key scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet through generating magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME are auroras, which are direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, disable power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting millions in darkness for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see events on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the expert.

In other words, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining eruptions in visible light, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – key clues that show the intensity of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers collaborated analyzing the data obtained from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – 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 TNT – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale each.

Even though these figures seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions carrying power equal to even more than that.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The insights gained will assist in developing protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.