NASA's PUNCH Mission Sees the Sun's Corona in Action

NASA's PUNCH mission sees the Sun's corona in action

Here on Earth, we think about the Sun in an overwhelmingly positive way. It’s the giver of nearly all light and energy received on Earth’s surface, and the primary driver of life on our planet. The process of photosynthesis requires the Sun, and the day/night cycle signals to organisms when to wake and when to sleep. Seasonal variations, due to Earth’s axial tilt and our latitude on the planet, determine the amount of energy we receive, with tem…

NASA's PUNCH Mission Captured Images of a Huge Solar Eruption

During its commissioning phase, NASA's [*Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere*](https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/punch/) (PUNCH) mission captured high-resolution images of a [Coronal Mass Ejection](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-mass-ejections) (CME) in greater detail than was previously possible.

Watch a Massive Solar Storm Unfold in 3D – Captured by NASA’s PUNCH Mission

NASA’s PUNCH mission, unveiled at an astronomical meeting, uses a four-satellite system to deliver stunning early images of CMEs and solar wind in motion. The spacecraft are poised to revolutionize our understanding of space weather in the coming months. At a recent astronomy conference in Anchorage, Alaska, Dr. Craig DeForest of the Southwest Research Institute [...]