SOHO CCD Bakeout?

Is there anyone who can explain what this means, please?

sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov...

Thankyou in advance.

What's a CCD bakeout, anyway?

The annual SOHO Bake Sale is on (this year fatures new-fangled solar powered easy-bake ovens).

(It's a UV overload of the light gathering mechanism - the CCD).

Introducing google...

www.esa.int...

this was the 3rd hit.

It is www.google.com in case you are lost

Duh me. Thankyou for the informative replies. I should have googled it I guess but it's 39C here and climbing...oh and it's Melbourne Cup day so.

Why are science/techno boffins so fond of alarming catch phrases to describe routine, mundane events or issues? Bakeout, Catastrophic error, Illegal operation etc.?

Why not CCD clean up maintenance?

Sorry for being a smart arse. I look at the sun quite often, but had no idea what it meant.

It's a fancy term for sunbaking. Condensation builds up inside the satellite's cameras, and it interferes with the clarity of the picture, so they heat it up to dry it out.

Cheers Xlynyr from another Aussie