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We present results of a dual eclipse expedition to observe the solar corona from two sites during the annular solar eclipse of 14 October 2023 using a novel coronagraph designed to be accessible for amateurs and students to build and deploy. The coronagraph (CATEcor) builds on the standardized eclipse observing equipment developed for the Citizen CATE 2024 experiment. The observing sites were selected for likelihood of clear observations, for historic relevance (near the Climax site in the Colorado Rocky Mountains), and for centrality to the annular eclipse path (atop Sandia Peak above Albuquerque, New Mexico). The novel portion of CATEcor is an external occulter assembly that slips over the front of a conventional dioptric telescope, forming ashaded-trussexternally occulted coronagraph. CATEcor is specifically designed to be easily constructed in a garage or “makerspace” environment. We successfully observed some bright features in the solar corona to an altitude of approximately 2.25 R_⊙during the annular phases of the eclipse. Future improvements to the design, in progress now, will reduce both stray light and image artifacts; our objective is to develop a design that can be operated successfully by amateur astronomers at sufficient altitude even without the darkened skies of a partial or annular eclipse. 

Magnetic flux ropes manifest as twisted bundles of magnetic field lines. They carry significant amounts of solar mass in the heliosphere. This paper underlines the need to advance our understanding of the fundamental physics of heliospheric flux ropes and provides the motivation to significantly improve the status quo of flux rope research through novel and requisite approaches. It briefly discusses the current understanding of flux rope formation and evolution, and summarizes the strategies that have been undertaken to understand the dynamics of heliospheric structures. The challenges and recommendations put forward to address them are expected to broaden the in-depth knowledge of our nearest star, its dynamics, and its role in its region of influence, the heliosphere. 

Abstract This letter capitalizes on a unique set of total solar eclipse observations acquired between 2006 and 2020 in white light, Fexi789.2 nm (T_fexi= 1.2 ± 0.1 MK), and Fexiv530.3 nm (T_fexiv= 1.8 ± 0.1 MK) emission complemented by in situ Fe charge state and proton speed measurements from Advanced Composition Explorer/SWEPAM-SWICS to identify the source regions of different solar wind streams. The eclipse observations reveal the ubiquity of open structures invariably associated with Fexiemission from Fe¹⁰⁺and hence a constant electron temperature,T_c=T_fexi, in the expanding corona. The in situ Fe charge states are found to cluster around Fe¹⁰⁺, independently of the 300–700 km s⁻¹stream speeds, referred to as the continual solar wind. Thus, Fe¹⁰⁺yields the fiducial link between the continual solar wind and itsT_fexisources at the Sun. While the spatial distribution of Fexivemission from Fe¹³⁺associated with streamers changes throughout the solar cycle, the sporadic appearance of charge states >Fe¹¹⁺in situ exhibits no cycle dependence regardless of speed. These latter streams are conjectured to be released from hot coronal plasmas at temperatures ≥T_fexivwithin the bulge of streamers and from active regions, driven by the dynamic behavior of prominences magnetically linked to them. The discovery of continual streams of slow, intermediate, and fast solar wind characterized by the sameT_fexiin the expanding corona places new constraints on the physical processes shaping the solar wind. 

The middle corona, the region roughly spanning heliocentric distances from 1.5 to 6 solar radii, encompasses almost all of the influential physical transitions and processes that govern the behavior of coronal outflow into the heliosphere. The solar wind, eruptions, and flows pass through the region, and they are shaped by it. Importantly, the region also modulates inflow from above that can drive dynamic changes at lower heights in the inner corona. Consequently, the middle corona is essential for comprehensively connecting the corona to the heliosphere and for developing corresponding global models. Nonetheless, because it is challenging to observe, the region has been poorly studied by both major solar remote-sensing and in-situ missions and instruments, extending back to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/(SOHO) era. Thanks to recent advances in instrumentation, observational processing techniques, and a realization of the importance of the region, interest in the middle corona has increased. Although the region cannot be intrinsically separated from other regions of the solar atmosphere, there has emerged a need to define the region in terms of its location and extension in the solar atmosphere, its composition, the physical transitions that it covers, and the underlying physics believed to shape the region. This article aims to define the middle corona, its physical characteristics, and give an overview of the processes that occur there.