Astrophysics Expert to Speak at Cal Poly on April 8, Unveiling NASA’s Latest Images of Solar Storms
An illustration of the four PUNCH spacecraft in low Earth orbit. Photo Courtesy: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.
March 2026 / NEWS STORY
by Nick Wilson
Images from NASA’s latest solar mission will be presented at a special event scheduled to take place at Cal Poly in April, which is open to the Cal Poly community and the public.
The 2026 Ross and Sue Benitez Space Exploration Forum will take place April 8 from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Laboratories (Building 7).
The free event titled “New Eyes on the Sun: Astrophysics Expert to Speak at Cal Poly on NASA PUNCH Images Unveiling Solar Storms” features a presentation by Sarah Gibson, a senior scientist with the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission, followed by stargazing on the nearby patio.
Sarah Gibson, Senior Scientist with PUNCH mission.
The presentation will showcase images captured from small satellites that are now making global, 3D observations of the sun’s outer atmosphere.
“For the first time, images of solar storms and their transition into the solar wind are being recorded and made into videos that help us understand space weather and the impacts of these storms on earth,” said Jodi Christiansen, a Cal Poly physics professor and event coordinator.
The PUNCH mission was launched in March 2025 out of Vandenberg Space Force Base. Gibson will present PUNCH’s mosaic view that fills our sky with effervescent flows and dynamic eruptions and connects the sun, solar win, and Earth as never before.
“In particular, I am interested to see the new videos of huge eruptions from the sun (coronal mass ejection events) that occurred on June 3, and again in October and November, that impacted earth’s geomagnetic field and caused widespread auroras,” Christiansen said.
After the event, the Cal Poly Astronomy Club and the Central Coast Astronomical Society will have telescopes set up in the patio to view the moon, planets, galaxies, and star clusters (weather permitting).
The forum is suitable for teens to seniors, and especially the Cal Poly community.
Parking is available in the H-2a and H-16 lots. For more information, click here.
This event is hosted by the Cal Poly Physics Department, Central Coast Astronomical Society and the Cal Poly Astronomy Club.
This image from NASA’s mission shows a wide-field view of the Sun’s outer atmosphere (the corona) and the solar wind streaming into space.
