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}}</ref> A wealth of data was accumulated across the whole range of emission.
The solar community was rocked by the launch of ''[[Yohkoh]]'' (Solar A) from [[Kagoshima Space Centre]] (Southern Japan) in [[August]] [[1991]] It was lost on [[14th December]], [[2001]] due to battery failure, but revolutionised X-ray observations in its decade of operations. Yohkoh (or ''Sunbeam'') orbited the Earth in an [[elliptical]] [[orbit]], observing X-ray and [[Gamma ray|γ-ray]] emissions from solar phenomena such as solar flares. Yohkoh carried four instruments. The Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS), the Wide Band Spectrometer (WBS), the Soft X-Ray Telescope ([[Yohkoh|SXT]]) and the Hard X-Ray Telescope (HXT) were operated by a consortium of scientists from [[Japan]], [[USA]] and [[UK]]. Of particular interest is the [[Yohkoh|SXT]] instrument for observing X-ray emitting coronal loops.
[[Image:Yohkohimage.gif|thumb|200px|left|X-ray solar coronal loops as viewed by the ''[[Yohkoh]]'' observatory]]
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The next major step in solar physics came at the launch of the [[Solar and Heliospheric Observatory]] (SOHO) in [[December]] [[1995]] from [[Cape Canaveral Air Force Station]] in [[Florida]], USA. SOHO originally had an operational lifetime of two years. The mission was extended to [[March]] [[2007]] due to its resounding success allowing SOHO to observe a complete 11 year solar cycle. SOHO continually faces the Sun holding a slow orbit around the First [[Lagrangian Point]] (L1) where the gravitational balance between the Sun and Earth provides a stable position for SOHO to orbit. SOHO is continually eclipsing the Sun from the Earth at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometres.
[[Image:SOHO solar flare sun large 20031026 0119 eit 304.png|thumb|200px|right|A typical [[Solar and Heliospheric Observatory|SOHO]] image of the chromosphere and magnetic structure of the Sun.]]
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The EIT instrument is used extensively in coronal loop observations. EIT images the transition region through to the inner corona by utilising four band passes, 171Å FeIX, 195Å FeXII, 284Å FeXV and 304Å HeII, each corresponding to different EUV temperatures, probing the [[chromospheric network]] to the lower corona.
The [[TRACE|Transition Region And Coronal Explorer]] ([[TRACE]]) was launched in [[April]], [[1998]] from [[Vandenberg Air Force Base]] as part of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Small Explorer (SMEX) project. The small orbiting instrument has a 30×160cm, 8.66m focal length Cassegrain telescope with a 1200×1200px CCD detector. The timing of the launch was planned to coincide with the rising phase of the solar maximum. Observations of the transition region and lower corona could then be carried out in conjunction with SOHO to give an unprecedented view of the solar environment during this exciting phase of the solar cycle.▼
▲from [[Vandenberg Air Force Base]] as part of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Small Explorer (SMEX) project. The small orbiting instrument has a 30×160cm, 8.66m focal length Cassegrain telescope with a 1200×1200px CCD detector. The timing of the launch was planned to coincide with the rising phase of the solar maximum. Observations of the transition region and lower corona could then be carried out in conjunction with SOHO to give an unprecedented view of the solar environment during this exciting phase of the solar cycle.
[[Image:Tracemosaic.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Full-disk mosaic of the million-degree [[Sun]] by [[TRACE]]]]
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