Solar Observations

In this book four internationally known speakers explore some key areas in solar physics. O. von der Luehe discusses new techniques, which are being developed for observing the Sun at high spatial resolution; these have been essential for most of the recent discoveries about the Sun. The magnetic field dominates much of the structure we see and many of the active phenomena on the Sun, and so an understanding of how to measure the field is important. This is described in a chapter by Egidio Landi Degl'Innocenti. New solar telescopes in Europe and the USA have led the way in the present revolution in the understanding of the Sun and important new breakthroughs are expected from LEST. In particular, the post focus instrumentation has been crucial, and a chapter by Hubertus Woehl is devoted to the subject. Finally Pierre Mein gives a thorough analysis of the dynamics of the solar atmosphere. This book is based on the first Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics. It comes at a very exciting stage in solar physics and stands as a important stimulus for future work.