Explanation:
A tantalizing glimpse inside this dome was captured after
sunset at the mountain top
Pic Du Midi Observatory
in the French Pyrenees.
But while most are just beginning their
work at sunset, this observatory's day was done.
The instrument looming within
is CLIMSO
(for Christian Latouche IMageur Solaire),
dedicated to exploring dynamic phenomena across the
surface and atmosphere of the Sun.
To image the solar atmosphere or corona, CLIMSO uses
coronagraphs.
Developed by French astronomer
Bernard Lyot
in the 1930s, coronagraphs block light from the center of
the telescope beam to create an artificial
solar eclipse
and allow a continuous view of
the solar corona.
In this surreal twilight scene above a
sea of clouds,
the dome's interior was revealed by the single, long exposure
as the open slit rotated across the field of view.
