Produced by: Manoj Kumar
On August 7, 2025, NASA’s PUNCH mission placed all four spacecraft into final orbit—ushering in a new era of real-time, full-sky observation of the solar wind and corona.
Using a unique coronagraph and wide-angle imagers, PUNCH will peer past the Sun’s blinding glare to study its faint, turbulent outer atmosphere—the birthplace of solar storms.
Credit: Southwest Research Institute
For the first time, four spacecraft form a near-planetary ring along Earth’s day-night line, giving scientists an uninterrupted 360° view of how the Sun’s emissions spread and evolve.
By tracking solar storms from their origin to their Earth-bound impact, PUNCH aims to transform how we forecast and defend against space weather threats like geomagnetic blackouts.
All high-resolution images—from raw to processed—are publicly released. Researchers and space enthusiasts alike can now track solar activity through NASA’s open-access platforms.
PUNCH’s camera array builds ultra-wide mosaics of the heliosphere, capturing dynamic changes across the corona and inner solar system with unprecedented clarity and scope.
Each spacecraft’s position was fine-tuned over months to maximize data coverage and eliminate blind spots—enabling seamless stitching of solar images in near real time.
PUNCH works in tandem with missions like Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter, merging close-up and panoramic views to build the most complete solar weather model yet.
With better solar wind tracking, PUNCH may enhance early warnings for disruptions to satellites, GPS, and power grids—vital defense in an increasingly tech-dependent world.