The Reason the Year 2026 Will Be an Unprecedented Year for India's Solar Observation Mission

Regarding Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed into space recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, it comes roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, the Sun emits two to three CMEs a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, since events that take place on the Sun threaten infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the scientist explains.

"However, they may make all the electronics on a satellite fail, knock down power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The most powerful solar storm in history was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to observe what happens on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at the source and track its path, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other solar missions watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," notes the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events in visible light, enabling it to determine eruption heat and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated to study the data obtained from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius 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 these figures make it sound massive, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs with energy content equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed 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 gained will help us developing the countermeasures to implement to protect satellites in near space. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.