Outreach Overview

Composite of ancient and modern depictions of the solar corona. Upper left: petroglyph of solar
eclipse viewed in 1097 (Chaco Culture National Historical Park). Lower right: high-resolution observation of 2013 solar
eclipse (© 2013 Constantinos Emmanoulidis, © 2014 Miloslav Druckmüller)

The PUNCH Outreach program is activating the theme of Ancient & Modern Sun-watching to enhance the personal and cultural relevance of NASA heliophysics in the US Southwest and beyond. NASA approved the 5-year PUNCH Outreach plan in January 2021. The PUNCH mission is teamed with a Collaborative of four planetariums & science centers, plus other multicultural partners in the Four Corners region (CO, NM, UT, and AZ) to enact the plan. To learn more about PUNCH, see our mission page.

See below for information about our logo

Our thematic approach is designed to take advantage of the solar eclipses in 2023 and 2024, and yet also to be enduring for the full Heliophysics Big Year and beyond.

The populations we are collaborating with and learning from are: Native American and Hispanic youth & families, Blind and Low Vision Learners, and Girls in STEM. The arts-integrated, multicultural, multi-sensory products and events we are developing to address the needs and opportunities of these historically marginalized groups are proving to be enriching for all people.

Please find more detail about our PUNCH Outreach plan and the fruits of our efforts to date at the links below:

10-page overview summary of the NASA-approved PUNCH Outreach plan (PDF, 1.2 MB)
Self- Directed Walk-Through of the PUNCH Outreach Plan as proposed (PPT presentation, 8.4 MB)
Invited presentation AGU 2021 Morrow & DeForest, "The PUNCH Outreach Program – A New Pathway for NASA Mission-Embedded Outreach" (YouTube Video | enriched PDF, 3.7 MB)
PUNCH Outreach products

Info about our Outreach logo: This composite image of ancient and contemporary depictions of the solar corona has become the PUNCH Outreach logo. UPPER LEFT: An Ancestral Puebloan petroglyph in Chaco Canyon, that may be plausibly interpreted as a representation of the 1097 total solar eclipse during a time of high solar activity. LOWER RIGHT: a high-resolution observation of 2013 solar eclipse (©2013 Constantinos Emmanoulidis, ©2014 Miloslav Druckmüller). The February 2023 issue of our 1-Page monthly Newsletter provides more detail about our logo.