Why the Year 2026 Will Be an Unprecedented Year for the Indian Sun Mission

For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered in orbit recently – will be able to observe the Sun during its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, it comes roughly once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves our star transition from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain velocities exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel in any direction, even toward our planet. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME 15 hours to traverse the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star emits two to three CMEs daily," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more each day."

Researching CMEs ranks among the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, because activities occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on Earth and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to people, yet they impact our planet by causing magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, being a clear example that charged particles from our star are travelling to Earth," the scientist explains.

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

Historical Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, leaving millions without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed flight operations, leading to chaos in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, a CME had led to dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to see what happens on the Sun's corona and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at origin and track its trajectory, it can work as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other solar missions observing our star, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to watching the corona.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

In other words, this instrument functions as a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare allowing scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events in visible light, enabling it to measure eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers collaborated analyzing information obtained from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

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 used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Although the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see eruptions carrying power matching greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard for future comparison to evaluate what is in store during solar maximum arrives," he says.

"The learnings gained will assist in work out protective measures to be adopted to protect satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.