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The Big Corona

Explanation: Most photographs don't adequately portray the magnificence of the Sun's corona. Seeing the corona first-hand during a total solar eclipse is unparalleled. The human eye can adapt to see coronal features and extent that average cameras usually cannot. Welcome, however, to the digital age. The featured central image digitally combined short and long exposures that were processed to highlight faint and extended features in the corona of the total solar eclipse that occurred in August of 2017. Clearly visible are intricate layers and glowing caustics of an ever changing mixture of hot gas and magnetic fields in the Sun's corona. Looping prominences appear bright pink just past the Sun's limb. Faint details on the night side of the New Moon can even be made out, illuminated by sunlight reflected from the dayside of the Full Earth. Images taken seconds before and after the total eclipse show glimpses of the background Sun known as Baily's Beads and Diamond Ring. Tomorrow, a new total solar eclipse will be visible from parts of South America.

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Unfortunately many image processors fail to recognize that we are observing a 3D array from the sun's corona, the overlapping features are difficult
to sort out. Some streamers are coming toward us, others away. Strangely human vision when looking at this phenomenon sorts out the continuous features successfully when scanning the total solar event. Stacked digital images being processed do not enjoy the human experience. However spectacular these highly manipulated images are, the truth scientifically can only be from resolution of foreground and background solar atmosphere data from space as the STERIO satellites were to provide.

Eclipses always seem to fascinate!

I wonder, was there ever any early confusion, with some observers thinking there was a mysterious lunar corona?

MarkBour wrote: ↑Mon Jul 01, 2019 12:44 pm I wonder, was there ever any early confusion, with some observers thinking there was a mysterious lunar corona?

Apparently it was ambiguous until 1724, when Giacomo Maraldi noted that the Moon moves during totality with respect to the inner features in the corona, so it must belong to the Sun. (Best Google hint on this came from http://www.mreclipse.com/Totality3/TotalityApH.html).

That was very interesting! Another great job by the APOD team!

I live in Salem, Oregon... it was a hotspot for the eclipse... here is my shot....

It was my first really viewed Solar Eclipse... had a good front yard view...totality is with my camcorder. The other is with my telescope and astronomy camera.

Giant Pacman Sunspot Eater...
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