Normally, it's very difficult to see the corona, since the visible light from the solar surface is a million times brighter than the light from the corona. A coronagraph is very carefully designed to allow us to produce an artificial total eclipse of the Sun whenever we want (so long as the Sun is shining of course!). |
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I've been using a coronograph to look for waves in the solar atmosphere. If they exist, they might be important in heating the corona - but that's another story! |
One of the great things about being an astronomer is that you get the chance to work in interesting places. This is a photo of the Big Bear Observatory, California, USA where I used to work. The observatory is right in the middle of a lake. That's because being surrounded by water means that the atmosphere around the telescope remains very still so that the images of the Sun will be sharp and clear.