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

Regarding India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be truly unique.

It's the first time the spacecraft – which was placed in orbit recently – can observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

According to scientific data, it comes approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the North and South poles swapping positions.

This period of great turbulence. It sees our star transition from calm to stormy and is marked by a significant rise in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that blow out from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and reach a speed exceeding 2,000 miles per second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME 15 hours to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect them to be over ten each day."

Studying CMEs ranks among the most important research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. Firstly, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the Sun at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, because activities that take place on the solar surface endanger infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to people, but they do affect our planet by causing geomagnetic storms that impact the weather in near space, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most beautiful manifestations from solar eruptions are auroras, being direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey to Earth," the scientist explains.

"However, they may cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and disrupt weather and communication satellites."

Historical Solar Events

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid failed, affecting six million people without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and various European airports
• Recently in 2022, an ejection caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to see events in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at the source and track its path, it can work as a forewarning to switch off power grids and spacecraft redirecting them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

There are other space observatories observing our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge over others when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," notes the researcher.

In other words, the coronagraph acts like a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the Sun's bright surface allowing scientists constantly study its faint outer corona – a feat natural eclipses provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining solar events in visible light, enabling it to determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – key clues indicating how strong a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists worked together to study information gathered from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

This event began on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were much smaller in scale each.

Although the numbers seem incredibly large, the scientist classifies 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 CMEs carrying power matching even more than that.

"I consider the CME we evaluated happened during periods was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard for future comparison to evaluate what to expect when the maximum activity cycle arrives," he says.

"The insights from this will help us work out protective measures to be adopted to protect spacecraft in near space. They will also help achieving a better understanding of our space environment," he concludes.