🔗 Share this article The Reason the Year 2026 Is Set to Be an Unprecedented Year for the Indian Sun Mission A coronal mass ejection is much bigger than Earth Regarding Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be truly unique. It's the first time the observatory – which was placed into space recently – can watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle. According to research, this occurs approximately every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles changing places. This period marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out from the solar corona. Composed of ionized 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 travel in any direction, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the vast distance between Earth and the Sun. "In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be over ten each day." Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important research goals of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in space. Northern lights illuminated the night sky over the US in November Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising Indian satellites, orbit. "The most beautiful displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist explains. "However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft fail, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites." Past Solar Events The most powerful solar event ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe During 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving millions in darkness for nine hours During late 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European airports 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 as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its path, this serves as advanced warning to shut down power grids and satellites and move them out of harm's way. The solar atmosphere is only visible when the Moon blocks the Sun from Earth Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage There are other space observatories watching our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere. "Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the expert. Essentially, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments. Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events in visible light, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – key clues that show how strong of an eruption when traveling our direction. Readiness for Maximum Activity In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, scientists worked together analyzing the data obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now. It originated in September 2024 during early hours. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that struck the ship weighed much less. At origin, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale respectively. Although these figures make it sound massive, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one. The space rock which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and when solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions with energy content matching greater levels. "In my view this eruption we evaluated happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states. "The insights from this will assist in work out the countermeasures to be adopted to protect satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.