The Crown of the Sun

During a total solar eclipse, the Sun's extensive outer atmosphere, or corona, is
an inspirational sight. The subtle shades and shimmering features of the corona
that engage the eye span a brightness range of over 10,000 to 1, making them
notoriously difficult to capture in a single picture. But this composite of 28 digital
images ranging in exposure time from 1/1000 to 2 seconds comes close to revealing
the crown of the Sun in all its glory. The telescopic views were recorded near
Kochenevo, Russia during the August 1 total solar eclipse and also show solar
prominences extending just beyond the edge of the eclipsed sun. Remarkably,
features on the dark near side of the New Moon can also be made out, illuminated
by sunlight reflected from a Full Earth.