Inspired by her father, a young astrophotographer helped take this stunning image of a solar prominence.
Astrophotographer John Chumack, along with his daughter Kayla, took this close-up of a solar prominence on May 19, from Dayton, Ohio.
"I showed her how to safely center up the sun in the [hydrogen-alpha] scope and how to adjust the exposures using Fire-Capture software on the PC. We captured lots of data in about 40 minutes," Chumack wrote in an email to Space.com.
Anchored to the sun's lower atmosphere layer called the photosphere, solar prominences are massive gaseous features that extend outward into the outer portion of the sun's atmosphere, called the corona.
"There were many bright prominences on the sun yesterday, but we went after a larger but a much fainter prominence, we also tried to barlow up (magnify) to capture a close-up shot too," he added. "I'm so very proud of her, she did a good job."
Warning: Never look directly at the sun through binoculars, telescopes or with your unaided eye. Severe eye damage, and even blindness, can result. Astronomers use special filters to safely observe the sun and protective glasses are required for solar eclipse viewing.
To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by Space.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.
Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
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