SOHO LASCO C2: Raw Solar Corona Images in FITS Format

Raw FITS image data from the LASCO C2 coronagraph aboard the SOHO spacecraft, capturing the solar corona from 1.5 to 6 solar radii. The data is produced by NASA's National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated on 2026-03-13. The instrument uses a 1024 x 1024 pixel CCD with a spatial resolution of approximately 23 arcseconds.

Use Cases

• Analyzing coronal mass ejections based on the instrument's field of view from 1.5 to 6 solar radii
• Studying solar wind structures using the 1024 x 1024 pixel image resolution
• Developing image compression algorithms based on the seven techniques mentioned in the instrument description
• Conducting spectroscopic analysis based on the instrument's capability for monochromatic imaging and Doppler shift derivation

Strengths

• Data originates from a well-documented scientific instrument described in a peer-reviewed paper (G. E. Brueckner et al., 1992)
• Images have a defined spatial resolution of approximately 23 arcseconds for the C2 coronagraph
• Instrument uses a 1024 x 1024 pixel CCD, providing a consistent image format

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• File formats include BIN and HTML, which may require specialized tools for analysis

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by the LASCO C2 coronagraph instrument aboard the SOHO spacecraft.

Time Range

Temporal coverage is not explicitly stated in the provided metadata.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 11:21:27.221409; freshness should be verified

Geography

Observations of the solar corona, a spatial coverage not tied to Earth geography.