The Crown of the Sun

During a total solar eclipse, the Sun's extensive outer atmosphere or corona is
an awesome and 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 33
digital images ranging in exposure time from 1/8000 to 1/5 second comes very close
to revealing the crown of the Sun in all its glory. The telescopic views were recorded
from Side, Turkey during the March 29 solar eclipse, a geocentric celestial event that
was widely seen under nearly ideal conditions. The composite also captures a pinkish
prominence extending just beyond the upper edge of the eclipsed sun.