Measurements of the Sun in the near-infrared He I 10830 A absorption line were performed using the echelle spectrograph with adispersion of 6.71 mA per pixel at the Vacuum Tower Telescope (German Solar Telescopes, Teide Observatory, Izana, Tenerife, Spain) on May 26, 1993. These measurements were compared with full-disc soft X-ray images of the SUN (Japanese solar satellite Yohkoh), full-disc solar images in H alpha (Big Bear Solar Observatory), full-disc solar images in the He I 10830 A line (National Solar Observatory, Kitt Peak) and with full-disc microwave solar maps at 37 GHz (Metsähovi Radio Research Station). In the He 10830 A line the Sun displays a limb darkening similar to that in the visible part of the spectrum. Active regions and H alpha filaments show a strong absorption in the He I 10830 A line, whereas the absorption is weak in coronal holes.
Last update: December 27, 1996, Hubertus Wöhl, <hw@kis.uni-freiburg.de>