The Reason 2026 Is Set to Be an Unprecedented Year for the Indian Solar Observation Mission

For India's first solar observatory, 2026 is expected to be truly unique.

This marks the initial occasion the spacecraft – that entered into space recently – will be able to watch our star when it reaches its maximum activity cycle.

As per scientific data, it comes approximately once 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 sees the Sun changing from peaceful to violent and is marked by a significant rise in the frequency of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – enormous clouds of plasma that blow out from the solar corona.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME can weigh of billions of tons and reach velocities of up to 3,000km each second. It can head out in any direction, including towards the Earth. At top speed, it would take a CME about half a day to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star emits two to three CMEs a day," explains a leading scientist. "Next year, we expect there will be over ten each day."

Researching CMEs is one of the key research goals for the Indian first solar observatory. One, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the star at the centre of our planetary system, and two, since events that take place on the solar surface threaten infrastructure on Earth and in space.

Impacts on Earth and Orbital Systems

CMEs seldom present immediate danger to human life, but they do affect our planet through generating geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in Earth's vicinity, where nearly 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most beautiful displays of a CME are auroras, being direct evidence that charged particles from our star journey toward our planet," the expert explains.

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

Past Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded was the 1859 solar superstorm which knocked out telegraph lines worldwide
• During 1989, a part of Canadian electrical network was knocked out, affecting six million people in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disturbed air traffic control, causing chaos in Sweden and various European air hubs
• Recently in 2022, a CME had led to 38 commercial satellites being lost

If we are able to observe events in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at origin and track its path, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them to safety.

The Mission's Special Capability

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

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph is the exact size that lets it nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of nearly the entire of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even during solar events," says the researcher.

Essentially, this instrument functions as an artificial Moon, blocking the solar glare to let researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – something natural eclipses provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, this is the only mission that can study solar events using optical wavelengths, enabling it to determine eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show how strong a CME would be when traveling toward Earth.

Preparation for Maximum Activity

In preparation for the upcoming peak solar activity period, scientists collaborated to study the data gathered from a major solar eruption recorded by the mission has observed recently.

It originated in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic weighed much less.

At origin, the heat reached extreme levels with energy equivalent comparable to millions of tons of explosives – relative to nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were 15 kilotons in scale each.

Even though the numbers make it sound incredibly large, the scientist describes it as a moderate event.

The asteroid that eliminated the dinosaurs on Earth was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"In my view this eruption we evaluated to have occurred when the Sun of typical solar activity. This establishes the standard that we'll be using assessing what is in store during solar maximum occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will help us work out protective measures to implement safeguarding satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid us gain a better understanding of near-Earth space," he adds.