Why 2026 Will Be an Unprecedented Year for the Indian Sun Mission

For Aditya-L1, the year 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

It's the first time the spacecraft – that entered in orbit last year – can observe our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs roughly every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – the Earth equivalent could be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves our star transition from calm to stormy and features a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of fire that erupt 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 per second. It can travel toward various directions, even toward the Earth. At maximum velocity, the journey takes a CME about half a day to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, our star launches a few solar eruptions daily," explains a leading scientist. "In 2026, we expect there will be over ten daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the key scientific objectives for the Indian first solar observatory. One, because the ejections provide an opportunity to learn about the star in the center of our planetary system, and secondly, since events that take place on the Sun threaten infrastructure on Earth and in orbit.

Effects on Earth and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections seldom present immediate danger to human life, yet they impact our planet by causing magnetic disturbances that impact conditions in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, including Indian satellites, are stationed.

"The most beautiful displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from Sun journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

"However, they may make all the electronics on a satellite fail, knock down power grids and affect weather and communication satellites."

Past Solar Events

• The strongest solar storm ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out communication systems worldwide
• In 1989, sections of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting six million people in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, causing chaos across Scandinavia and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

With capability to see events on the Sun's corona and detect solar activity or solar eruption as it happens, record its temperature at origin and track its trajectory, it can work as advanced warning to shut down power grids and satellites redirecting them to safety.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

While other space observatories observing the Sun, India's spacecraft holds an edge over others regarding studying the solar atmosphere.

"The instrument is the exact size enabling it to effectively simulate lunar coverage, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere and allowing it an uninterrupted view of nearly the entire solar atmosphere 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during eclipses and occultations," says the researcher.

Essentially, the coronagraph functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses does only during specific moments.

Moreover, it's unique capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine eruption heat and heat energy – crucial data indicating how strong a CME would be if it headed our direction.

Preparation for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, scientists collaborated analyzing information obtained from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has observed recently.

It originated on 13 September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. The eruption's weight totaled billions of tons – for comparison that struck the ship weighed much less.

Initially, its temperature reached extreme levels with energy equivalent was equivalent to 2.2 million megatons of explosives – relative to the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Even though the numbers seem incredibly large, the expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on our planet was 100 million megatons and during the Sun's maximum activity cycle, there may be CMEs carrying power matching greater levels.

"I consider the CME we analyzed to have occurred when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the standard that we'll be using to evaluate what to expect during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The learnings from this will help us work out the countermeasures to implement safeguarding satellites in near space. They will also help us gain deeper knowledge of our space environment," he concludes.