🔗 Share this article Why 2026 Is Set to Be a Year Like No Other for India's Sun Mission A coronal mass ejection is several times larger than Earth Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be like no other. This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered in orbit last year – can watch our star when it reaches the peak of its solar cycle. As per research, this occurs approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would 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 significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out from the solar corona. Made up of charged particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance. "In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be 10 or more each day." Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives for the Indian maiden solar mission. Firstly, because the ejections offer a chance to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in orbit. The aurora borealis lit up the night sky across America last autumn Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems CMEs rarely pose immediate danger to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, orbit. "The most spectacular manifestations from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the expert clarifies. "But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites." Historical Solar Incidents The strongest solar event in history was the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems worldwide In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving millions without power for nine hours During late 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European air hubs In February 2022, an ejection had led to dozens of spacecraft failing If we are able to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or solar eruption in real time, record its temperature at the source and watch its path, it can work as advanced warning to shut down power grids and satellites redirecting them to safety. The Sun's corona can be seen during a total solar eclipse from our perspective The Mission's Unique Advantage While other solar missions watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage over others regarding watching the corona. "Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher. In other words, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon does only during eclipses. Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions in visible light, letting it measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data that show the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction. Readiness for Maximum Activity To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers worked together to study the data obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now. This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less. At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons in scale respectively. Even though these figures seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event. The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs with energy content matching greater levels. "I consider this eruption we evaluated happened when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states. "The insights from this will help us work out protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of near-Earth space," he concludes.