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For India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be like no other.

It's the first time the observatory – which was placed into space last year – can observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the North and South poles changing places.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star changing from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt from the solar corona.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can head out in any direction, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take an ejection 15 hours to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits a few solar eruptions daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect them to be over ten daily."

Studying CMEs is one of the key research goals of India's maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and two, since events that take place on the Sun threaten systems on Earth and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, being direct evidence that charged particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event in history occurred during the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving six million people in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and various European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to observe events in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to switch off power grids and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," says the researcher.

In other words, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the solar glare to let researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, it's unique that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating how strong of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for next year's peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated to study the data obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. 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 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although these figures make it sound incredibly large, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions with energy content equal to even more than that.

"In my view the CME we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights gained will help us developing the countermeasures to implement to protect spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he adds.