NASA engineers have successfully calibrating the PUNCH mission’s instruments, which has sent back unique photos of the solar corona. The four satellites that make up the mission have captured stunning images of the sun’s outer atmosphere, revealing previously unseen details.
The PUNCH mission aims to visualize how the solar wind transforms from a glowing corona to a stream of particles filling the solar system. It uses light polarization analysis to investigate the corona and solar wind in three dimensions.
When coronal particles scatter sunlight, they leave a “polarization fingerprint” that can be detected using the mission’s color-encoding system. This technology converts the signals into bright spectral images, providing unprecedented insights into the structure of the streams.
The mission consists of four key instruments: NFI, WFI, and two additional cameras. The first test photos have confirmed all systems operate perfectly, revealing the detailed structure of the fluxes.
Over the coming months, the team will fine-tune the satellites, removing noise from cosmic radiation, synchronizing data from all four instruments, and preparing for large-scale monitoring of solar flares. This data will help predict solar storms that can disable satellites and power grids, as well as unlock the secrets of heating the corona to millions of degrees.
This breakthrough marks a significant step forward in understanding the sun’s behavior and its impact on our planet. As project leader Craig DeForest notes, these “rainbow images” are just the beginning – PUNCH will provide real-time views of the solar corona, revolutionizing our understanding of this complex phenomenon.
Source: https://universemagazine.com/en/punch-mission-reveals-3d-secrets-of-the-colored-solar-wind