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

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – will be able to watch the Sun during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun transition from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions daily," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to human life, but they do affect our planet through generating magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that charged particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, disable power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar storm in history was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting millions without power for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to chaos in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

While other solar missions watching our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size 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, even during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique that can study eruptions in visible light, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data indicating how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together to study the data gathered from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively.

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

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

"In my view the CME we evaluated to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The insights gained will help us work out protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.