The Great American Solar Eclipse 2017 - Solar Corona during Totality

Equipment: 3" Takahashi FSQ-85ED apo refractor on a Takahashi NJP mount, Nikon D810a DSLR

Exposure: Composite of 9 sub-exposures, 1/3200 sec to 2 sec

Location: “Ground Zero” - Walmart Parking Lot, Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

I was treated to the most glorious visual experience EVER with this 2017 Total Solar Eclipse. My journey took me to Hopkinsville, KY, which was essentially “ground-zero” for the eclipse. We were blessed with clear skies and friendly, excited neighbors for the 2 minutes and 40 seconds of totality.

This is the full solar corona, which is visible during totality. This image is a composite of several images ranging from 1/3200 seconds to 2 seconds. These are put together in Photoshop by uniting the images as a Smart Object and applying “mean” blending to the stack.

The moon details, which aren’t visible with the eye during a total eclipse, become visible in a longer exposure due to reflected earth light (earthshine) that illuminates the moon’s surface. The wispy details of the jets of particles that stream through the sun’s coronosphere - collectively called the “corona” - are details achieved with additional processing.

This image was later used on the cover of Amateur Astronomy Magazine, Fall 2017.