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Regarding India's first solar observatory, the year 2026 will be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – which was placed into space recently – will be able to observe the Sun when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

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

This period marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh of billions of tons and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take an ejection 15 hours to cover the vast distance between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated them to be over ten daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the most important research goals for the Indian maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections offer a chance to learn about the star at the centre of our solar system, and two, because activities occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on our planet and in space.

Effects on Earth and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to people, but they do affect our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, are stationed.

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

"However, they may make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving six million people without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, causing disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to observe what happens in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or solar eruption as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, this serves as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories observing the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, including during solar events," notes the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, obscuring the solar glare allowing researchers continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Additionally, it's unique that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, researchers worked together to study information gathered from one of the largest solar eruption recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively.

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

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and when solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he says.

"The learnings from this will assist in developing protective measures to be adopted safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.