This research will study the temperature of the solar corona and the density of solar chromospheric spicules through observations of their continuous spectra carried out at the total solar eclipse of the Sun on July 11, 1991. Accurate determinations of the intensities of certain spectral lines can lead to an independent determination of coronal electron temperatures. Total solar eclipses allow one to measure the solar emission as a function of altitude above the solar limb. From this emission it is possible to deduce the temperature and the density of the chromosphere. The physical conditions that are deduced will be useful for improving models for small chromospheric structures.
