Total solar eclipse in X-rays, 20 May 2012, as seen by the Hinode spacecraft. Hinode is a spacecraft designed to observe the solar surface and corona in X-ray light. It is located in a low-Earth, sun-synchronous polar orbit that permits nearly continuous observations of the Sun. This image was obtained with Hinode's X-Ray Telescope (XRT), revealing the inner regions of the Sun's million-degree corona and a glimpse of its active photosphere.