The outreach team embedded in the NASA PUNCH mission1 has developed a well-vetted suite of Sun-related STEM learning activities2 to prepare for the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses and beyond. All activities align with our Ancient and Modern Sun-watching theme and thus are of enduring value for physics and astronomy teaching beyond the eclipses.
PUNCH (Polarimeter to UNify the Corona and Heliosphere) is a NASA Small Explorer scheduled for launch in 2025. It is designed to image and track solar storms from the outer corona to Earth orbit with unprecedented quality and continuity. Just as our Sun-watching ancestors learned to predict and live well with the seasonal cycles, PUNCH is among the NASA Sun-watching missions helping our technological society learn to live well with the Sun’s 11-year activity cycle.
The PUNCH Outreach team creates products in collaboration with mission team members, a consortium of planetariums and science centers...
