QUASI-STEREOSCOPIC IMAGING OF THE SOLAR-X-RAY CORONA

The first published three-dimensional images of the solar X-ray corona , obtained by means of solar rotational parallax, are presented in ste reographic form. Image pairs approximately 12 hours apart during times of stable coronal conditions were selected from the digitized images obtained with the Skylab X-ray Spectrographic Telescope, The image res olution limit is approximately 10 are sec. Many coronal structures not visible in the separate images are clearly observed when the image pa irs are viewed stereoscopically. This method gives a preview of the po tential resources for solar research and forecasting of solar-geomagne tic interactions that could be provided by stereoscopic observations o f the Sun using a small group of spacecraft. The method is also applic able to other X-ray, ultraviolet, or other wavebands in which the coro na has extended, transparent structure.