A
coronagraph is a
telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a
star so that nearby objects – which otherwise would be hidden in the star's bright
glare – can be resolved. Most coronagraphs are intended to view the
corona of the
Sun, but a new class of conceptually similar instruments (called
stellar coronagraphs to distinguish them from
solar coronagraphs) are being used to find
extrasolar planets and
circumstellar disks around nearby stars.