Believe it or not, the amazing pictures of the sun that you see above were snapped by amateur astronomer Alan Friedman in his own backyard, using a telescope and webcam. That’s right, “using special filters attached to his camera, Friedman captures some of the most lovely details of the Sun’s roiling surface.” Continue reading to see more.
Here’s what Friedman has to say: “Our atmosphere is a formidable obstacle to capturing sharp photos of a distant object. Streaming many frames in a short period of time allows me to temper the blurring effects of air turbulence. Each photo is made from many thousands of frames. Most frames are unusable, distorted by the heat currents rising from rooftops and asphalt driveways. But a few will be sharp. I review the video frame by frame for these moments of “good seeing.” The high quality frames are selected and then averaged to form the raw material for my photographs.”
