Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has once again captured some amazing visuals from the Sun. McCarthy, who goes by cosmic_background on Instagram, spent seven hours taking millions of photographs of the Sun as he attempted to catch one of a solar flare. For his troubles, McCarthy captured one of the most breathtaking videos of a solar flare that we’ve seen yet.
You need to see this video of a solar flare
If you’re a sky watcher or just someone who loves anything to do with space, you’re in for a treat. McCarthy was able to catch a video of a solar flare as it erupted out of the surface of the Sun. It’s a beautiful sight, and one that you might not have expected to see so up close and personal.
McCarthy shared the video on Instagram Monday, May 9. In the comments, he says “Our Sun really just popped off while I was watching!”
If you watch the video, you’ll get a great view of a solar flare as it erupts, as well as a quick glimpse of McCarthy’s setup. This setup has allowed the astrophotographer to take some amazing photos of the Sun. This new video of a solar flare is simply the icing on the cake.
Our Sun is currently moving towards the most active phase of its current solar cycle, which resets every 11 years. As such, we’ve seen a lot of solar flares picking up in recent weeks.
Just a few weeks ago, we experienced the most powerful solar flare in five years. Now, the Sun continues to release X-Class solar flares pretty consistently. X-Class flares are the most intense flares that the Sun releases.
The most beautiful solar flare photo
NASA has shared some fantastic images and videos of solar flares in the past. Usually, though, those are captured by satellite telescopes. As such, they usually rely on x-ray or other sensors to capture the image. With this latest video of a solar flare, though, we’re able to clearly see the flare as the Sun ejects it into space.
Watching the video, you’ll see that at one point the flare turns black in the center. McCarthy says that this is because the flare was so bright the sensor clipped it. That made it turn black after processing it.
It’s also worth noting that capturing videos of solar flares isn’t as simple as pointing a camera at the Sun. McCarthy uses a very special setup to capture images of the Sun safely. Pointing a camera or telescope at the Sun without the proper equipment could cause damage to your equipment and even your eyes.
