The middle corona is shown on this page. The image (bottom) was taken
approximately at the maximum eclipse with 1/30 s exposure. This corona
structure is typical for the period near to the maximum of the
11-year solar cycle.
The 23rd solar cycle was on that day, August 11, 1999,
about 1-2 years before the cycle maximum. Solar cycles
are numbered starting since the 1760 maximum.
The coronal structure is changing
during the 11-year solar cycle. It is spread approximately evenly
to all spatial directions in solar cycle maximum. The structure is completely different
at solar cycle minimum when the coronal intensity is much greater in
equatorial plane than in polar regions.
