In 1944, while Tokyo was under Allied aerial attack, sirens warned citizens to remain indoors as the government blacked out the city. Hisako Koyama, a Tokyo resident then aged 28, used these perilous, dark moments as an opportunity to pursue her passion for astronomical observation. But as this evocatively animated video from TED-Ed explores, it was her meticulous and innovative daylight sketches of the Sun that would ultimately capture the attention of the astronomy world. Melding Koyama’s inspiring biography with the science of sunspots and solar flares, the short is at once a glimpse into the Sun’s somewhat hidden cycles and a celebration of the contributions of citizen scientists.

Via The Kid Should See This