Video Lessons
The woman who stared at the sun
Hisako Koyama, a Japanese woman with no formal training in astronomy, made remarkable contributions to the study of solar activity. Through her observations and sketches of the sun’s surface, she created one of the most important records of solar activity in human history. Her work allowed scientists to track sunspots and clusters, providing real-time indication of the sun’s magnetic activity and helping predict and plan for volatile solar flares.