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

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

This marks the initial occasion the observatory – that entered into space last year – will be able to observe our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs roughly once every 11 years as the Sun's magnetic poles flip – a similar Earth scenario would be the planet's poles swapping positions.

It's a time of great turbulence. It involves the Sun transition from calm to stormy and features a huge increase in the number of solar eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – massive bubbles of fire that blow out of the Sun's outermost layer.

Composed of ionized particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and can attain a speed of up to 3,000km each second. It can travel in any direction, even toward the Earth. At top speed, it would take an ejection about half a day to cover the vast distance Earth-Sun distance.

"During typical or low-activity times, our star launches two to three CMEs a day," says an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, it's anticipated there will be over ten each day."

Researching coronal mass ejections is one of the most important scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions provide an opportunity to study the star at the centre of our solar system, and secondly, since events that take place on the Sun endanger systems on Earth and in space.

Effects on Our Planet and Orbital Systems

Coronal mass ejections seldom present a direct threat to people, yet they impact life on Earth by causing geomagnetic storms affecting the weather in near space, where nearly thousands of spacecraft, comprising many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular displays from solar eruptions include northern lights, being a clear example that solar particles from Sun are travelling to Earth," the expert clarifies.

"But they can also make all the electronics aboard spacecraft malfunction, knock down power grids and disrupt meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Incidents

• The strongest solar event ever recorded occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems worldwide
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving six million people in darkness for nine hours
• In November 2015, solar activity disrupted air traffic control, leading to disruption across Scandinavia and various European airports
• Recently in 2022, a CME caused dozens of spacecraft being lost

If we are able to see what happens on the Sun's corona and detect a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection in real time, record its temperature at the source and watch its path, it can work as advanced warning to shut down power grids and spacecraft and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Unique Advantage

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

"The instrument has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic the Moon, completely blocking the Sun's photosphere permitting continuous observation of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including during solar events," notes the expert.

In other words, this instrument acts like a synthetic eclipse, blocking the solar glare allowing researchers constantly study the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon provide only during eclipses.

Moreover, this is the only mission capable of examining eruptions using optical wavelengths, letting it measure a CME's temperature and thermal output – key clues that show how strong of an eruption if it headed our direction.

Readiness for Peak Period

To prepare for next year's solar maximum, researchers collaborated to study information gathered from a major CMEs recorded by the mission has recorded until now.

It originated on 13 September 2024 during early hours. Its mass totaled billions of tons – the iceberg that sank Titanic weighed much less.

At origin, its temperature was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content comparable to 2.2 million megatons of TNT – relative to nuclear weapons used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons each.

Although these figures make it sound incredibly large, the expert classifies it as a moderate event.

The space rock which wiped out prehistoric life on Earth carried enormous energy and during solar peak occurs, we could see eruptions carrying power equal to greater levels.

"I consider this eruption we analyzed to have occurred during periods was in the normal activity phase. This establishes the benchmark that we'll be using assessing what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The insights from this will help us work out protective measures to implement to protect satellites in orbit. They will also help achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.