An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The exterior part of the → solar corona, illuminated by solar light scattered or reflected by dust particles. The same phenomenon also produces the → zodiacal light,
much farther away from the Sun. The dust particles are at most several microns in size and make up a disk stretching over almost 1 solar radius (700,000 km) from the Sun’s surface. Unlike electrons, which are responsible for the → K corona, the dust particles move relatively slowly. Thus, the light scattered by them has the same spectrum as the → photosphere and shows the → Fraunhofer lines. The F corona is the most luminous part of the corona at 1.5 solar radii from the Sun’s surface (M.S.: SDE).

See also: F referring to the Fraunhofer lines; → corona.