Studies of the prominence-corona transition zone from rocket ultraviolet spectra of the March 1970 eclipse

Slitless VUV spectra of the eclipsed Sun were obtained from a rocket experiment for the first time during the 1970 eclipse. The spatially resolved spectra of a quiescent prominence in the wavelength range 900 Å–2200 Å consist of emission lines from ions formed in the temperature range 3.5 × 10⁴k–3.2 × 10⁵k. The spectral intensities have been interpreted in terms of physical parameters which indicate a transition zone of shell-like layers, the inner the cooler and thinner, the outer the hotter and more extended. The transition zone is about 3 km thick for a model thread of 2000 km in diameter.