Solar and heliospheric observatory, SOHO - a phase-A project of the European Space Agency

The instrumentation and data expected to be gained by launch of the ESA SOHO satellite are outlined. SOHO, placed at an L1 libration point 1.5 million km from the earth, would carry grazing and normal incidence spectrometers, EUV and soft X-ray telescopes, an UV coronal spectrometer and a white light coronagraph. The experiments would monitor the solar corona and solar oscillations, examine the transition regions, and characterize both the particles and magnetic fields of the solar wind. Long term data would also be collected to detect the presence of significant solar luminosity variations on scales measurable by SOHO capabilities and longevity. 10 references