A SOHO LASCO C2 image of the solar corona. LASCO (Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph) is able to take images of the solar corona by blocking the light coming directly from the Sun with an occulter disk, creating an artificial eclipse within the instrument itself.
The position of the solar disk is indicated in the image by the white circle. The most prominent feature of the corona are usually the coronal streamers, those nearly radial bands that can be seen. Occasionally, a coronal mass ejection can be see being expelled away from the Sun and crossing the fields of view.
This C2 image shows the inner solar corona up to 8.4 million kilometres away from the Sun on 20 June 2001.