Why 2026 Is Set to Be a Year Like No Other for the Indian Sun Mission

Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – which was placed into space recently – will be able to watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per research, it comes approximately every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles changing places.

This period marked by intense activity. It involves our star changing from peaceful to violent and features a significant rise in the number of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – enormous clouds of fire that erupt of the Sun's outermost layer.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection may have a mass up to a trillion kilograms and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, the journey takes an ejection about half a day to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"In the normal or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs daily," explains an astrophysics expert. "Next year, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the most important research goals of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the Sun in the center of our solar system, and secondly, since events occurring on the solar surface endanger systems on Earth and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to human life, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms affecting conditions in near space, where about thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the scientist clarifies.

"However, they may cause electronic systems aboard spacecraft malfunction, disable power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event in history was the Carrington Event that disabled telegraph lines worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting millions without power for hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted flight operations, leading to disruption in Sweden and some other European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

With capability to see events on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or solar eruption in real time, measure its heat at the source and watch its path, this serves as a forewarning to switch off electrical systems and satellites redirecting them out of harm's way.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other solar missions observing our star, India's spacecraft holds an edge compared to rivals regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it continuous observation of nearly the entire solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during solar events," says the expert.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare to let researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon does only during eclipses.

Additionally, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine eruption heat and thermal output – key clues that show how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

In preparation for next year's peak solar activity period, researchers worked together to study information obtained from one of the largest CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic was 1.5 million tonnes.

Initially, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius with energy equivalent comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though these figures make it sound incredibly large, the scientist classifies it as a "medium-sized" one.

The asteroid that eliminated prehistoric life on our planet carried enormous energy and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to greater levels.

"In my view the CME we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. Now this sets the standard for future comparison to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he says.

"The learnings from this will help us work out the countermeasures to implement to protect satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.