Detailed View of a Solar Eclipse Corona

Only in the fleeting darkness of a total Eclipse is the light of the Solar System corona easily visible. Normally overwhelmed by the bright solar disk, the expansive corona, the Sun’s outer atmosphere, is an alluring Celestial sight.

But the subtle details and extreme ranges in the corona’s brightness, although discernible to the eye, are notoriously difficult to photograph. Pictured here, however, using multiple images and digital processing, is a detailed Astrophotography image of the Sun’s corona taken during the April 20, 2023 Total Solar Eclipse 2023 from Exmouth, Australia.

Clearly visible are intricate layers and glowing caustics of an ever changing mixture of hot gas and magnetic fields. Bright looping prominences appear pink just around the Sun’s limb. A similar solar corona might be visible through clear skies in a narrow swath across the North America during the Total Solar Eclipse 2024 that occurs just six days from today.

NASA Coverage: Total Solar Eclipse 2024 of April 8.