Image Captions for Solar Max Press Release

Contact: 

	Dr Helen Mason (Camb. Univ.)
	Tel: 01223 337898
	email: H.E.Mason@damtp.cam.ac.uk

	
	Robert Walsh (Uni. of St. Andrews)
	Tel: 01334 463711
        email: robert@mcs.st-and.ac.uk


soho_eit1.gif
--------------

An image of the full disc of the Sun displaying the outer atmosphere
or corona at 1 million degrees Kelvin. This image was recorded
on 11 September 1997. The ``loopy'' structures we see are due to
the interaction between the ionised gases and the Sun's strong magnetic
field.

Credit --- The SOHO-EIT Consortium: SOHO is an ESA/NASA project of
international cooperation.


soho_eit2.gif
--------------

An image of the full disc of the Sun at about 60,000 - 80,000 degrees K.
There is a large eruption of material from the North-West. The material
being thrown out is over 350,000 km (216,000 miles) across, 
large enough to cover the Earth approximately 28 times.

Credit --- The SOHO-EIT Consortium: SOHO is an ESA/NASA project of
international cooperation.


soho_eit_uvcs.gif
--------------------

The Sun's outer atmosphere as it appears in ultraviolet light. 
This image was taken by two instruments (UVCS, outer region and 
EIT, inner region) aboard the SOHO spacecraft. The image allows 
us to follow these features from near the solar surface to 
millions of kilometers away from the Sun. 

Credit --- The SOHO-UVCS Consortium: SOHO is an ESA/NASA project 
of international cooperation. 


soho_lasco.gif
---------------

Image of a large plasma cloud exploding outwards from the Sun 
on 20 April 1998. This image was created using an artifical
eclipse instrument called LASCO onboard on the SOHO spacecraft.
The actual size of the Sun iteslf is shown as the while circle
in the middle of the image.


Credit --- The SOHO-LASCO Consortium: SOHO is an ESA/NASA 
project of international cooperation. 



yohkoh_sxt.gif
----------------

Only very hot gases can emit X-rays. The Sun's atmosphere, at millions 
of degrees, is hot enough to be observed in X-rays. However, the much
cooler surface of the sun, at 6000 degrees, is not. The bright shapes 
that we see in this image are created by the Sun's magnetic field as 
it controls the motion of the gases in the Sun's atmosphere. 

This image was taken by the Soft X-ray Telescaope onboard the Yohkoh 
This is an observatory designed specifically for studying X-rays 
and gamma-rays from the Sun. Launched on August 31, 1991, Yohkoh 
was built in Japan and the sun-observing instruments have contributions 
from the U.K. and America. 

Credit --- Yokhoh Public outreach Program.




eclipse.gif
-----------

As the moon moves in front of the bright solar disc, a solar
eclipse occurs. The outer atmosphere of the Sun (the corona)
is revealed as a bright halo around the moon.

Credit --- David Le Conte