The Reason 2026 Is Set to Be an Unprecedented Year for India's Solar Observation Mission

For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be like no other.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered in orbit last year – can observe the Sun during its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs roughly every 11 years when the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It involves the Sun changing from calm to stormy 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.

Made up of ionized particles, a coronal mass ejection can weigh 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 the Earth. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME about half a day to traverse the 150 million km Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun launches two to three CMEs a day," says a leading scientist. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be 10 or more daily."

Studying coronal mass ejections is one of the key scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to study the star in the center of our solar system, and secondly, since events occurring on the Sun endanger infrastructure on our planet and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

CMEs rarely pose a direct threat to human life, yet they impact our planet through generating magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about thousands of spacecraft, including many from India, are stationed.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions are auroras, which are a clear example that solar particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"But they can also make all the electronics on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network failed, affecting six million people without power for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar storms disturbed flight operations, leading to chaos in Sweden and various European airports
• In February 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft failing

If we are able to see events in the solar atmosphere and spot a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and watch its trajectory, this serves as advanced warning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them to safety.

Aditya-L1's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories watching our star, India's spacecraft has an advantage compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument has perfect dimensions that lets it effectively simulate the Moon, completely blocking the solar disk permitting an uninterrupted view of almost all solar atmosphere around the clock, 365 days a year, even during solar events," notes the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let researchers continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study eruptions in visible light, letting it determine a CME's temperature and heat energy – crucial data indicating how strong a CME would be if it headed toward Earth.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists worked together analyzing the data gathered from a major CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – for comparison that sank Titanic weighed much less.

Initially, the heat reached extreme levels and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were much smaller and 21 kilotons each.

Although the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the expert describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, there may be eruptions with energy content matching even more than that.

"I consider the CME we analyzed to have occurred during periods of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what is in store when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will assist in developing protective measures to be adopted safeguarding satellites in near space. Additionally, they'll aid achieving deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.