This photograph of the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, was taken by a research team from the National Center for Atmospheric Research's High Altitude Observatory during a total solar eclipse on 7 March 1970. It was taken at an altitude of 8,800 feet (2,700 meters) on a remote mountain site in southern Mexico with a special camera designed by Gordon Newkirk of NCAR. The corona, much dimmer than the sun itself, can only be seen when the disk of the sun is covered, as it is during a total eclipse. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the earth and sun. The sun is much larger than the moon, but it is also much farther from the earth--so much farther that the sun and moon appear to be virtually the same size in our sky. When the moon covers the sun's disk almost exactly during a total solar eclipse, the corona comes into view. This photo shows details of the corona's structure, from its innermost part to its outer region.
