coronagraph

American  

[kuh-roh-nuh-graf, -grahf] / kəˈroʊ nəˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

Or coronograph

noun

Astronomy.

1. an instrument for observing and photographing the sun's corona, consisting of a telescope fitted with lenses, filters, and diaphragms that simulate an eclipse.

---

coronagraph British  

/ kəˈrəʊnəˌɡrɑːf, -ˌɡræf /

noun

1. an optical instrument used to simulate an eclipse of the sun so that the faint solar corona can be studied

---

Other Word Forms

• coronagraphic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of coronagraph

1885–90; earlier coronograph. See corona, -graph

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

coronagraph

“It’s a little bit like having a kid go off to college,” said Vanessa Bailey, JPL instrument scientist for the planet-hunter, called a coronagraph.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

During normal times when there is no eclipse, scientists study the Sun's atmosphere with satellites equipped with a coronagraph -- "a filter that blocks out the photosphere", Brun explained.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

In other words, the coronagraph acts like an artificial Moon, blocking the Sun's bright surface to let scientists continuously observe its faint outer corona -something the real Moon does only during eclipses.

From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025

The direct method of imaging exoplanets involves using a coronagraph or starshade to block a host star's light, allowing for scientists to capture a faint image of the new world in orbit.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 29, 2024

Similar ill success attended his and Professor Riccò's employment, on Mount Etna in July, 1894, of a specially designed coronagraph.

From A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition by Agnes M. (Agnes Mary) Clerke