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

It's the first time the observatory – that entered in orbit recently – can watch the Sun during its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME about half a day to traverse the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, we expect there will be over ten daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, because the ejections offer a chance to study the Sun in the center of our solar system, and two, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten systems on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays of a CME are auroras, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may make all the electronics on a satellite fail, disable electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event in history was the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving six million people without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to see events on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at the source and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other space observatories observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure eruption heat and thermal output – key clues indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing the data gathered from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

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

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

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

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum arrives," he states.

"The insights gained will assist in developing the countermeasures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.