The Sun
Studying the Sun's outer atmosphere (the corona) helps us understand how the solar wind is born, how magnetic fields drive solar eruptions and storms, and how energy and charged particles propagate throughout the heliosphere.
By tracing these processes, missions like PUNCH and Parker Solar Probe are improving our understanding of space weather and its effects on Earth and the other planets.
Explore our videos below: The Sun Touches Humanity & Humanity Touches the Sun.
The Sun Touches Humanity
In early 2025, NASA is launching a Small Explorer mission called PUNCH, the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere. This mission is a constellation of four suit-case sized satellites in low-Earth orbit that make global, 3D observations of the entire inner heliosphere between the Sun and Earth. These observations help to understand the origin and evolution of the solar wind, including the tracking of solar storms from the Sun. Join PUNCH science and outreach leads as they share how this mission provides a “big-picture” view of how the Sun touches humanity.
The Sun Touches Humanity
El Sol Toca a la Humanidad
Heliophysics-related Educational Resources & Activities
- 3-Hole PUNCH Pinhole Projector: Order or print this 3-Hole PUNCH pinhole projector to make images of the Sun and learn how pinhole projection works! Great for educators
- PUNCH Team Cards: Learn more about the team behind the NASA PUNCH mission.
- Sun Fun Fill-in-the-Blanks: Fill in the missing information to learn more about the Sun in these drag-and-drop web games. Great for solo learners
- Dancing Up a Solar Storm: Follow this video tutorial to kinesthetically explore solar storms through accessible guided movement. Great for educators
- The Petroglyph Inquiry: Experience our Sun and how humankind has studied it for thousands of years through tactile petroglyphs. Accessible for blind, low-vision, and sighted learners
- Seeing the Sun’s Corona with your Hands: Learn more about the Sun’s Corona by feeling tactile art. Great for educators, materials required
- Birthday Sunrises on a Chaco Canyon Horizon: Explore how the Sunrise and Sunset change position over the course of a year with this activity, which can be adapted for a variety of learning environments.
- Rock of the Sun in Chaco Canyon: Through this film from the PUNCH outreach team, learn about a petroglyph in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, which may be an Ancestral Pueblo representation of the 1097 total solar eclipse.
- 3D Printable Tactile Models of Chaco Petroglyphs
- The Delight of Polarized Light: With these resources, learn about how the NASA PUNCH Mission and 2024 Citizen Cate experiment use polarized light to study the Sun.
- What is Heliophysics? This interactive resource provides great information about the Sun and how it influences our Solar System. Great for solo learners
Humanity Touches The Sun
On December 24, 2024, Parker Solar Probe will make its closest approach to the Sun. At a speed of 430,000 miles per hour, or more than 100 miles per second, this spacecraft is the fastest object ever created by humans! Learn how Parker is helping scientists unravel the mysteries of the Sun’s corona in this episode of Science Through Shadows.
Humanity Touches The Sun
La humanidad toca al Sol
Solar corona-related Educational Resources & Activities
- Coronograph Flip Book: Explore the Sun’s atmosphere by watching a video about NASA’s STEREO Mission and creating a flipbook of a coronograph showing a solar flare. Great for educators
- Parker Solar Probe Pizza Cut Out: Learn more about the Parker Solar Probe by using this punch-out card to create a scale model of the Sun and Earth.
- Sun Cards: These Sun Cards from NASA’s Night Sky Network can be used to understand more about the Sun and its magnetic fields.
- Helioviewer: Observe solar phenomena from over the last two decades in near-real time. Great for solo learners