Explanation:
Only in the fleeting darkness of a total solar eclipse is the
light of the solar corona easily visible.
Normally overwhelmed by the bright solar disk, the
expansive corona, the
sun's outer atmosphere,
is an alluring sight.
But the subtle details and
extreme ranges in the corona's brightness, although discernible to the eye, are notoriously difficult to photograph.
Pictured above,
however, using multiple images and digital processing, is a detailed image of the Sun's corona taken during the
2008 August totalsolar eclipse from
Mongolia.
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 above the Sun's limb.
The next total solar eclipse will be in July but will only be visible in a thin swath of Earth crossing the southern
Pacific Ocean and
South America.
