What layers of the Sun can be seen with some types of telescope?
1 Answer
The photosphere, chromosphere and corona can be sen with types of telescope.
Explanation:
The Sun's photosphere is very bright which makes it difficult to see any feature without special filters.
Using a simple mylar filter on a telescope or camera lens reduces the amount of light to the point where it is safe to view the Sun. This makes sun spots clearly visible. A solar scope which projects an image of the Sun onto a white background can also be used to view sun spots.
A Hydrogen alpha filter only allows light through which is at the frequency of the Hydrogen Balmer lines. These filters allow details of the photosphere and chromosphere to be seen. It is also a good way of viewing solar flares.
The best time to see the corona is during a total solar eclipse where the moon covers the bright photosphere. This is not the best way of studying the corona as total eclipses are typically 1-2 years apart and can be in places difficult to get to.
The corona graph is a telescope attachment which covers the photosphere. The problem is that scattered light obscures the corona at ground level. Taking a corona graph to the top of a mountain or better still on a high altitude balloon or a satellite allows the corona to be studied any time when the Sun is visible.
