🔗 Share this article

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

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – can observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, this occurs roughly every 11 years as 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 changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel in any direction, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs daily," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be 10 or more each day."

Researching CMEs is one of the most important scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events that take place on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to human life, but they do affect life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, being direct evidence that solar particles from our star journey to Earth," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for nine hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, leading to disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at origin and track its trajectory, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories observing the Sun, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during solar events," says the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data indicating how strong of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers worked together to study information obtained from a major solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively.

Even though the numbers seem massive, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid which wiped out prehistoric life on our planet carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions carrying power equal to even more than that.

"In my view the CME we evaluated happened during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he states.

"The learnings gained will help us developing the countermeasures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.