Cosmic ray modulation over the poles at solar maximum: Observations

Our knowledge of how galactic and anomalous cosmic rays are modulated in th e inner heliosphere has been dramatically enlarged as a result of measureme nts from several missions launched in the past ten years. Among them, Ulyss es explored the polar regions of the inner heliosphere during the last sola r minimum period and is now revisiting southern polar latitudes under solar maximum conditions. This gives us for the first time the possibility to co mpare modulation of cosmic rays at high heliographic latitudes during such different time periods. We present data from different instruments on board the Ulysses spacecraft together with 1 AU measurements in the ecliptic. In this paper we focus on measurements that have direct implications for our understanding of modulation of cosmic rays in the inner heliosphere.