🔗 Share this article Why 2026 Is Set to Be an Unprecedented Year for India's Solar Observation Mission A coronal mass ejection is much bigger than Earth Regarding India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be like no other. It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit last year – will be able to observe our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle. According to research, it comes roughly once every 11 years as 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 our star changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out from the solar corona. Composed of charged particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the vast distance Earth-Sun distance. "In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day." Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on Earth and in orbit. The aurora borealis lit up the night sky across America last autumn Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet through generating magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, are stationed. "The most beautiful manifestations of a CME include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from Sun are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies. "But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft fail, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites." Historical Solar Events The strongest solar storm ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled telegraph lines worldwide During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for hours During late 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, causing chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft being lost With capability to observe events in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at the source and track its path, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety. The solar atmosphere is only visible when the Moon blocks the Sun from Earth Aditya-L1's Special Capability While other solar missions watching our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere. "The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert. Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare allowing researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses. Moreover, it's unique capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show how strong of an eruption when traveling our direction. Preparation for Peak Period In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together to study the data gathered from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now. It originated in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes. At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale respectively. Even though the numbers make it sound massive, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one. The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to even more than that. "I consider this eruption we evaluated happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum arrives," he states. "The insights from this will help us work out the countermeasures to implement to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.