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For Aditya-L1, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

It's the first time the spacecraft – that entered in orbit recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees our star changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward our planet. At top speed, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and two, because activities occurring on the Sun endanger infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being a clear example that charged particles from our star journey to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting six million people without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, causing disruption across Scandinavia and various European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to observe events on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and track its path, it can work as advanced warning to shut down electrical systems and spacecraft redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other space observatories watching the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing researchers constantly study its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique that can study solar events in visible light, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data that show how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together to study the data gathered from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

Even though these figures seem incredibly large, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions with energy content equal to greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison assessing what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will assist in developing protective measures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he adds.