SOHO's image of the Sun

This image of the Sun was taken by SOHO's EIT (Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope) instrument on 23 May 2006. EIT can take images of the solar atmosphere at several wavelengths, and therefore it is able to show solar material at different temperatures. In the images taken at 304 Angstroms the bright material is at 60 000 to 80 000 ºC. In those taken at 171, at one million degrees; 195 Angstrom images correspond to about 1.5 million ºC; 284 Angstrom, to 2 million degrees. The hotter the temperature, the higher you look in the solar atmosphere.