NASA’s PUNCH Mission at BC/ISR

NASA’s PUNCH mission, launched in March, has recently released images of its first solar storms known as “coronal mass ejections” or CMEs. When these storms hit the Earth, they can disrupt satellites and power grids, as well as causing the aurorae that many of us have enjoyed seeing the last few years. ISR’s Dave Webb co-leads the PUNCH working groups that will use the new satellites to study the structure and evolution of the CMEs. PUNCH, the  Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, is a constellation of 4 small satellites, each about the size of a large suitcase. Together, they will produce deep-field, continuous, 3D images of the solar corona as it makes a transition to the solar wind. This new perspective will allow scientists to discern the trajectory, speed and internal structure of the solar wind and coronal mass ejections as they move through the inner solar system, improving our understanding of the ambient and dynamic solar wind and their space weather effects. The mission is led by SwRI and UCAR; more information can be found at the team website.