An astrophotographer captured a huge solar eruption over the weekend. Chuck Ayoub, who captured the eruption, believes it was roughly the same height as three Earths stacked on top of each other. Ayoub shared a video of the eruption on Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube.
The Sun just let out another solar eruption big enough to envelop the Earth
The Sun is a lot bigger than the Earth. And, in case you ever forget that there are videos like this latest huge solar eruption to remind you. In the video, which was captured over the weekend, we’re given a close view of a massive eruption of plasma leaving the Sun’s surface.
It’s impossible to measure the exact size of the solar eruption based on the video itself. But the video creator says that it was roughly three Earth’s high. That means this solar eruption could have completely enveloped the Earth, three times over. Which seems insane when you really think about it.
We’ve seen our fair share of huge solar eruptions from the Sun over the years. Sometimes we’re even treated to some of that solar energy as it wreaks havoc on our planet’s magnetic field. Luckily, that doesn’t appear to be the case here. Still, even knowing the implications that a massive eruption of solar energy can bring, there’s just something fascinating and beautiful about those ‘temper tantrums’ that the Sun throws out.
How to look at the Sun safely
But how exactly did Chuck Ayoub capture this video of the Sun? After all, we were all told not to look at the Sun with unprotected eyes. I’ve talked about this in the past, too, in previous articles focused on our star. But Ayoub uses a specially designed telescope that protects the user from the powerful rays of energy that the Sun emits.
Luckily, for those looking to get into watching the sun and catching huge solar eruptions like this, Ayoub detailed the equipment used to capture the latest video. According to Reddit comments, Ayoub uses an Explore Scientific AR102 telescope equipped with a ZWO ASI174MM mono camera. The setup is also equipped with a DayStar Quark (chromosphere) solar filter. Finally, the setup includes an Astronomik L3 UV-IR blocker and energy rejection filter.
Together, all of this equipment allows astrophotographers like Chuck Ayoub to capture brilliant videos and images of the Sun. And, it does this without putting the photographers in danger. You can, of course, check out the video on Ayoub’s Instagram, as well as any other Astro-related photos and videos that have been shared.
