NASA's PUNCH Mission Predicts a Solar Storm's Arrival to Within 30 Minutes

Using continuous imagery from NASA's PUNCH mission, scientists predicted the near-Earth arrival of a solar eruption to within 30 minutes in a first proof-of-concept test. Current space weather forecasts often miss by many hours, which forces grid and satellite operators to either overreact or gamble. PUNCH tracks the corona and the inner heliosphere as one continuous system rather than stitching together separate instruments, which is what makes the tighter window possible.