🔗 Share this article Why 2026 Is Set to Be an Unprecedented Year for the Indian Solar Observation Mission A massive solar eruption can be much bigger than our planet Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be truly unique. This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space last year – can watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle. As per scientific data, it comes approximately once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent would be the North and South poles swapping positions. This period of great turbulence. It sees the Sun transition from peaceful to violent and features a huge increase in the frequency 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 may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach velocities exceeding 2,000 miles each second. It can travel in any direction, including towards our planet. At maximum velocity, 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, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be over ten each day." Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives of India's maiden solar mission. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to study the Sun at the centre of our planetary system, and secondly, since events that take place on the solar surface endanger infrastructure on Earth and in space. Northern lights lit up the night sky across America in November Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure CMEs seldom present a direct threat to people, but they do affect our planet through generating geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in near space, where nearly 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed. "The most beautiful manifestations of a CME are auroras, being direct evidence that solar particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains. "But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable power grids and affect weather and communication satellites." Past Solar Incidents The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions without power for nine hours During late 2015, solar storms disrupted flight operations, causing chaos in Sweden and some other European airports In February 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft failing If we are able to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down power grids and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way. The Sun's corona is only visible during a total solar eclipse from our perspective Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage There are other solar missions watching the Sun, India's spacecraft has an advantage over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere. "Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, fully covering the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire of the corona around the clock, throughout the year, including during solar events," notes the researcher. In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare allowing scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses does only during eclipses. Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it determine eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show how strong a CME would be when traveling toward Earth. Readiness for Peak Period To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated to study information obtained from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has observed recently. This event began in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes. Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of TNT – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each. Even though these figures make it sound incredibly large, 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 equal to even more than that. "In my view the CME we evaluated happened during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison to evaluate what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he says. "The insights gained will help us developing protective measures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.