Hydrogen-Alpha Sun: First Fully Autonomous Solar Capture
Tuesday, July 21st, 2026 at 4:45:03 PM · 2026/Astrophotography
This exceptional hydrogen-alpha solar image was captured using a Lunt LS60THa telescope, ZWO ASI585MM monochrome camera, and EQ-G mount in Walnut Creek, California — marking the first fully autonomous capture using Solar Autopilot software. The image is a lucky-imaging HDR stack combining 1,437 surface frames and 700 prominence frames with drizzle 1x processing and MAP alignment. The solar disk reveals extraordinary detail including dark elongated filaments arcing across the chromosphere, active regions with swirling plasma structures, and small sunspots near the disk center. The solar limb glows in vivid orange-red, with multiple prominences — loops and jets of plasma — erupting dramatically into space at several positions around the circumference. The two-tone color palette (golden disk vs. vivid red chromosphere/corona) is a hallmark of false-color hydrogen-alpha solar imaging.
Chronologically Adjacent
