A recent image captured by NASA’s PUNCH mission has sparked curiosity by showing the sun partially eclipsed with what looks like a second moon nearby. This striking photo, taken during the mission’s commissioning phase, results from the spacecraft’s unique instruments and vantage point rather than an actual extra celestial body, as detailed in a recent update from the Southwest Research Institute.
How the Image was Captured and the Mission’s Objectives
The image was taken by the Narrow Field Imager aboard the PUNCH constellation, a set of four small satellites launched to study the solar wind. The dark circle visible in the photo is caused by an instrument called the occulter, which blocks the sun’s intense light to reveal faint structures in the solar corona. The bright glow surrounding the sun is sunlight reflecting off the occulter, and the apparent second moon is actually the real moon illuminated by light reflected from Earth. These factors combine to create the eerie “double moon” effect seen in the image.
PUNCH’s primary goal is to observe the solar wind—the constant stream of charged particles emitted by the sun at millions of miles per hour. This solar wind drives space weather events that can disrupt satellites, radio communications, and power grids on Earth. By imaging the sun’s outer atmosphere and the space between Earth and the sun, PUNCH helps scientists better understand how solar activity shapes our space environment.
Bridging Heliophysics with Complementary Space Missions
Craig DeForest, principal investigator of PUNCH, described how this mission complements NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP). “PSP and PUNCH are both working to unite two separate branches of heliophysics into a unified whole,” he said. While PSP collects direct measurements inside the solar corona, PUNCH uses imaging techniques to observe how the corona extends and interacts with space near Earth. Together, these missions provide a fuller understanding of solar dynamics from the sun’s surface to the far reaches of the heliosphere.
This partnership is essential for studying space weather, as it integrates in situ data with detailed imaging. The insights gained will improve forecasts of geomagnetic storms, helping protect Earth’s technological infrastructure. PUNCH’s open data policy allows scientists worldwide to use its observations, encouraging broad collaboration.
