Why 2026 Will Be an Unprecedented Year for India's Sun Mission

Regarding Aditya-L1, the year 2026 will be like no other.

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

As per research, it comes approximately every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – the Earth equivalent could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It involves the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a huge increase in the frequency of solar storms and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of charged particles, a CME can weigh up to a trillion kilograms and can attain a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, it would take a CME about half a day to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"In the normal or quiet periods, our star emits a few solar eruptions a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect them to be 10 or more daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star in the center of our planetary system, and two, because activities that take place on the Sun endanger infrastructure on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, comprising Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays of a CME are auroras, which are a clear example that charged particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite fail, disable electrical networks and affect weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, a part of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, affecting millions in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, causing chaos across Scandinavia and various European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

With capability to see events in the solar atmosphere and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and track its path, it can work as a forewarning to switch off power grids and satellites redirecting them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Special Capability

There are other solar missions watching the Sun, Aditya-L1 has an advantage compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk and allowing it continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during solar events," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it measure eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data indicating the intensity a CME would be when traveling our direction.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, researchers collaborated analyzing the data obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – for comparison that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although the numbers seem massive, the scientist classifies it as a moderate event.

The asteroid which wiped out the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs carrying power matching greater levels.

"I consider the CME we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard for future comparison to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The insights from this will assist in work out protective measures to implement safeguarding spacecraft in orbit. They will also help us gain a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.