🔗 Share this article The Reason the Year 2026 Will Be an Unprecedented Year for the Indian Solar Observation Mission A coronal mass ejection is several times larger than Earth Regarding India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 is expected to be truly unique. It's the first time the spacecraft – that entered into space last year – can observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle. According to research, this occurs roughly every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles changing places. This period marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer. Composed of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, the journey takes an ejection 15 hours to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun. "In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten daily." Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals of India's maiden solar mission. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the star in the center of our solar system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten systems on Earth and in space. Northern lights lit up the night sky across America in November Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet by causing geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, orbit. "The most spectacular displays of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from our star journey to Earth," the expert clarifies. "But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites." Past Solar Incidents The most powerful solar storm in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems worldwide During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions without power for hours During late 2015, solar storms disrupted flight operations, causing disruption across Scandinavia and various European airports Recently in 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites being lost If we are able to observe events on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at origin and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them out of harm's way. The solar atmosphere can be seen during a total solar eclipse from Earth The Mission's Unique Advantage While other space observatories observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere. "Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the researcher. In other words, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses does only during eclipses. Moreover, it's unique that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to measure eruption heat and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction. Readiness for Maximum Activity In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists collaborated to study the data gathered from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now. This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less. At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons each. Although the numbers make it sound massive, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event. The space rock that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs carrying power matching greater levels. "In my view the CME we evaluated happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states. "The learnings from this will assist in work out the countermeasures to implement to protect satellites in near space. They will also help us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.