🔗 Share this article

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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed into space recently – can observe our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent could be the North and South poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves our star changing from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out toward various directions, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME about half a day to cover the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun launches a few solar eruptions daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more each day."

Studying CMEs is one of the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun threaten infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet through generating magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that solar particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the expert explains.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite fail, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm in history was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems across the globe
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network failed, leaving six million people in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed air traffic control, causing disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other space observatories watching the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – something the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events in visible light, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show the intensity of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming solar maximum, scientists worked together analyzing information obtained from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively.

Even though the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons 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 to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard that we'll be using assessing what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The insights gained will help us developing protective measures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in near space. Additionally, they'll aid us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.