Our view of the Sun according to SOHO

SOHO (the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), launched nearly two years ago, is revolutionising our understanding of the star that we can view from 5 microparsec - our Sun. Here I will introduce you to the basic properties of the Sun and summarise some of the main results that are just beginning to come from the suite of eleven instruments that make up SOHO and that are producing our first comprehensive view of the Sun, from the distant interior out into the solar wind. Three instruments investigating the interior have revealed many unexpected results of its properties and have identified the probable site of the dynamo that generates the Sun's magnetic field. Three more have analysed the structure and dynamics of the corona, and in parallel studies from non-SOHO telescopes two parts of the coronal heating problem have been solved: X-ray bright points are heated by driven reconnection and large coronal loops are probably heated in a turbulent manner by many small current sheets. Two instruments are investigating the origin of the solar wind: they have shown that the fast wind is probably heated by ion-cyclotron resonance and that coronal mass ejections represent a global restructuring of the corona and contribute much more to the mass flux than previously thought. Three instruments are making insitu solar-wind experiments and have measured many elements and isotopes for the first time. Finally, I am delighted to dedicate this paper to a man who with great charm, sympathy and vision has been largely responsible for the enormous success of the European space programme - Roger Bonnet.