Extreme ultraviolet observations of active regions in the solar corona

Abstract

The coronal features associated with solar active regions can be observed by recording images of the Sun at extreme ultraviolet (XUV) wavelengths. Pinhole cameras have been flown on stabilized sun-pointing ‘Skylark’ rockets to obtain broad-waveband XUV solar images. These images show localised emission from high-temperature regions located in the corona above calcium-plage areas. An improved design of pinhole camera, which uses a plane-diffraction grating to give increased spectral resolution, has recorded spectroheliograms in several intense solar lines including He II (304 Å), Fe IX–XI (180 Å), and Si X–XII (50 Å). Estimates are made of the size and brightness of the coronal emission region associated with a developing calcium-plage area.