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For India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit last year – will be able to watch the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs roughly every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of fire that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star launches a few solar eruptions daily," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our solar system, and two, because activities occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that solar particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may make all the electronics aboard spacecraft fail, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting six million people in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed flight operations, leading to chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see events on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and track its path, this serves as advanced warning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other space observatories observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining solar events in visible light, letting it measure eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show the intensity a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers worked together to study the data gathered from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

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

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though these figures seem incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to even more than that.

"I consider the CME we evaluated to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The insights gained will assist in work out protective measures to implement to protect spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.