SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA to study the Sun, from its deep core to the outer corona, and the solar wind. 

TRACE, the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer, is a NASA Small Explorer satellite to help us understand the Sun's active outer layers, by imaging the hot solar corona at unprecedented resolution in the optical and ultraviolet spectra.

 

Photo: Composite of SOHO & TRACE Satelites.

SOHO & TRACE is a leg of Around the World in 80 Telescopes tour: Click to play; click  (lower right) to view video full screen Next stop: STEREO (previous stop: NRAO GBT)

SOHO carries a suite of 12 complementary scientific instruments, including UV and EUV imagers and spectrometers, coronagraphs, solar wind and energetic particle detectors, helioseismology instruments, and a total solar irradiance monitor. It focuses on the visible to extreme ultra-violet light spectrum.  SOHO was launched on 2 December 1995.

TRACE's orbit enables uninterrupted viewing of regions on the Sun for up to two weeks, thus showing us how the Sun's magnetic field evolves.

SOHO & TRACE are used in tandem to study the Sun.

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