The Reason the Year 2026 Will Be an Unprecedented Year for the Indian Solar Observation Mission

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

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed into space recently – will be able to observe our star during its maximum activity cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes a CME 15 hours to cover the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or low-activity times, the Sun launches a few solar eruptions daily," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more daily."

Researching CMEs ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the star at the centre of our planetary system, and two, because activities occurring on the Sun threaten systems on our planet and in space.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing magnetic disturbances affecting conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about thousands of spacecraft, including Indian satellites, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, being a clear example that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the scientist clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down power grids and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid failed, leaving millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and various European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to see events in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at the source and track its path, this serves as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

There are other solar missions observing our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the solar disk permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

In other words, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon does only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and heat energy – key clues indicating the intensity a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for the upcoming solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing information obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Although these figures seem massive, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions carrying power matching even more than that.

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

"The insights from this will assist in developing protective measures to implement to protect satellites in near space. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he adds.