Why the Year 2026 Will Be a Year Like No Other for the Indian Sun Mission

Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed into space recently – will be able to watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

According to scientific data, this occurs approximately every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It sees our star changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of plasma that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, including towards our planet. At top speed, it would take an ejection about half a day to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star launches a few solar eruptions daily," says an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated them to be over ten daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the star in the center of our solar system, and two, since events that take place on the Sun endanger infrastructure on our planet and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating magnetic disturbances affecting the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays of a CME include northern lights, being direct evidence that solar particles from our star are travelling toward our planet," the expert explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down power grids and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Incidents

• The most powerful solar event ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions in darkness for hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disrupted flight operations, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to observe events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, measure its heat at the source and watch its path, it can work as a forewarning to shut down electrical systems and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other space observatories observing the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals regarding watching the corona.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during eclipses and occultations," notes the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses does only during eclipses.

Additionally, it's unique that can study eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show the intensity of an eruption if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, researchers worked together analyzing the data obtained from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

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

Although the numbers seem massive, the expert describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet carried enormous energy and when the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be eruptions with energy content matching greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The learnings from this will assist in developing the countermeasures to implement safeguarding satellites in near space. They will also help us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he adds.