Unique Insights into the Origin and Expansion of Coronal Structures from Total Solar Eclipse Observations

The enigma surrounding the solar corona continues to be the focus of observations from space and the ground, as well as model studies. The astounding spatial and temporal resolution of recent space-based imaging experiments, in particular in the ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet, have added significantly to the complexity and dynamics of coronal structures. Their main limitation, however, is the coverage of the inner corona over a distance range limited to half a solar radius at best from the solar surface. They thus fall short in placing the observed structures within the context of the expanding corona from the solar surface out into interplanetary space. This presentation will review the unique advantages of total solar eclipse observations in yielding novel insights into the bewildering variety of seemingly disparate coronal structures. This is achieved through the outstanding imaging and diagnostic potentials of the continuum and spectral line emission over a distance range range covering a few solar radii starting from the solar surface, coupled with state of the art image processing tools.