The PUNCH mission will include four microsatellites that work together to watch the entire heliosphere. (Credit: SwRI)

The sun powers life on Earth and keeps us from freezing to death. It also occasionally sends out bursts of charged particles that can be deadly to astronauts outside Earth’s sheltering atmosphere, and also wreak havoc on electronics both on and above Earth. There’s also a lot researchers still don’t understand about the sun’s behavior, including how its outermost layer gets