Abstract

A solid Fabry–Perot etalon with a $0.16\AA$ passband was used during the $180\mathrm{s}$ solar eclipse of 2006 for rapid scans of an emission line of the solar corona. The etalon was a Y-cut lithium niobate wafer coated with reflective and conductive (ITO) layers. Voltage applied perpendicular to the etalon face produced a passband shift of $0.0011\AA {\mathrm{V}}^{-1}$. During the eclipse, 18 filtergrams were obtained at six $0.22\AA$ steps across the profile of the forbidden [Fe X] spectral emission line at $6374.4\AA$, which results from the ${10}^6\mathrm{K}$ coronal plasma. The $9.3\times 9.3$ arcmin field of view showed the structure of the corona above a newly emerged sunspot region. We discuss tests performed on the etalon before and after the eclipse. We also discuss the coronal observations, which show some features with $10\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ velocities in the line of sight.

© 2008 Optical Society of America

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