FIRST RESULTS OF THE SUMER TELESCOPE AND SPECTROMETER ON SOHO .2. IMAGERY AND DATA MANAGEMENT

SUMER - Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation - is not o nly an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrometer capable of obtaining det ailed spectra in the range from 500 to 1610 Angstrom, but, using the t elescope mechanisms, it also provides monochromatic images over the fu ll solar disk and beyond, into the corona, with high spatial resolutio n. We report on some aspects of the observation programmes that have a lready led us to a new view of many aspects of the Sun, including quie t Sun, chromospheric and transition region network, coronal hole, pola r plume, prominence and active region studies. After an introduction, where we compare the SUMER imaging capabilities to previous experiment s in our wavelength range, we describe the results of tests performed in order to characterize and optimize the telescope under operational conditions. We find the spatial resolution to be 1.2 are sec across th e slit and 2 are sec (2 detector pixels) along the slit. Resolution an d sensitivity are adequate to provide details on the structure, physic al properties, and evolution of several solar features which we then p resent. Finally some information is given on the data availability and the data management system.