NASA’s newest spacecraft, the PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission, has captured a colorful image of the zodiacal light above Earth. The PUNCH spacecraft consists of four small satellites working together in low Earth orbit to study the sun’s corona and solar wind.
The images feature the faint glow of sunlight scattering off dust particles in space, creating a diffuse coloration that resembles a rainbow. However, it’s not a true optical rainbow as seen by the naked eye. Instead, the colored light represents different wavelengths of light, highlighting the instrument’s ability to analyze various components of the solar atmosphere.
The mission uses three-dimensional measurements of light polarization to study the corona and solar wind in detail. The four satellites include one Narrow Field Imager (NFI), which blocks out bright light from the sun to reveal details in the corona, and three Wide Field Imagers (WFIs), designed to see faint outer portions.
The PUNCH spacecraft launched on March 11, 2023, and includes another new NASA spacecraft, SPHEREx. SPHEREx is a spectro-photometer that peers into the cosmos with infrared eyes, creating a new map of the visible sky in 102 colors.
Source: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/nasas-punch-spacecraft-sees-a-cosmic-rainbow-in-the-zodiacal-light