INCREDIBLE IMAGE OF SUN

Many incredible images of our sun have been released to date. Most of which, came from professional space organizations like NASA or ESO. This particular one is different, as it was captured by an amateur astrophotographer using nothing but a telescope, a webcam and some special filters.

The photographer Alan Friedman, who lives in Buffalo New York, took advantage of a hydrogen alpha filter, which primarily blocks most light out but a small, narrow slice of deep red on the longest wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum.

On the topic of the challenges of astrophotography, Friedman said; "Our atmosphere is a formidable obstacle to capturing sharp photos of a distant object. Streaming many frames in a short period of time allows me to temper the blurring effects of air turbulence. Each photo is made from many thousands of frames. Most frames are unusable, distorted by the heat currents rising from rooftops and asphalt driveways. But a few will be sharp. I review the video frame by frame for these moments of "good seeing." The high quality frames are selected and then averaged to form the raw material for my photographs."