PUNCH imagery predicts solar storm arrival within 30 minutes
Using continuous imagery from NASA's PUNCH mission, scientists tracked a coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on May 31, 2025 and retroactively predicted its near-Earth arrival to within 30 minutes. PUNCH's four low-Earth-orbit spacecraft provide wide-field 3D images every four minutes, allowing a model to analyze the CME leading edge, speed, and geometry; twelve hours after launch it settled on a prediction that proved accurate to within a half hour. The result, presented at the Committee on Space Research meeting and under review at Space Weather, could significantly tighten forecasting windows and aid satellites, power grids, and plasma science.
PUNCH imagery predicted a coronal mass ejection arrival within 30 minutes.
Context
PUNCH launched in 2025 and gives continuous wide-field images of the inner solar system. Before PUNCH, scientists could see CMEs only about one-fifth of the way to Earth. With refined PUNCH data and models, forecasts could arrive earlier…
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