Home
Science
Science News
Astrophotographer Captures Giant Human Shaped Solar Prominence

Astrophotographer Captures Giant Human-Shaped Solar Prominence

A backyard astrophotographer in Arizona captured an extraordinary solar prominence that appeared like a giant figure standing above the Sun.

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 8 June 2026 22:41 IST

Astrophotographer Captures Giant Human-Shaped Solar Prominence

Photo Credit: Mark Johnston

A still image from Johnston's 25-second timelapse, which represents.

Click Here to Add Gadgets360 As A Trusted Source

Highlights

Solar prominence appeared as a giant figure above the Sun
Magnetic fields shape and support towering plasma structures
Hydrogen-alpha imaging revealed details invisible to normal telescopes

Arizona-based astrophotographer Mark Johnston aimed his telescope at the horizon in a Scottsdale backyard garden on May 31, 2026, but saw a sight never seen before. Pointing a hydrogen-alpha filter towards the sun's edge, he managed to record a giant cloud of plasma that looked like a giant standing still, rising from the sun's limb. Earlier, on May 22, an entirely different prominence ejected large quantities of matter into space in a phenomenon called coronal rain.

Magnetism Runs the Show

According to NASA, solar prominences are these massive plasma formations, sort of cooler and more packed than the nearby corona, and they just hang there above the sun because the sun's magnetic field is keeping them up. You can spot them as bright, glowing archways along the edge limb, while on the brighter solar disk, they show up more like dark ribbons, usually called filaments. Johnston said the whole “wind-swept” feeling in the plasma's movement is kind of misleading, because the ionised hydrogen is really being carried along unseen magnetic field strands, and gravity, well, it only plays a smaller part in the story.

Sun Discussion

Explore More...

No Fire, Just Physics

Contrary to appearances, Johnston is quick to dispel the myth that there is actually a flame burning on the sun. The sun's surface is filled with hydrogen plasma, which lights up due to being extremely hot rather than burning – like a stove's surface burning bright red without undergoing any actual combustion. The images were captured using a telescope with a hydrogen-alpha filter on a 160mm refractor, allowing him to record the unique 656.3 nanometer wavelength of hydrogen emission. Regular telescopes can see nothing at all. These observations are especially useful during solar maxima, when eruptions become more frequent.

Comments

Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.

Further reading: Sun, Solar Prominence, Solar Physics, Space Weather, Astrophotography, Mark Johnston, Solar Maximum, NASA, Hydrogen Alpha, Plasma, Solar Activity, Astronomy, Space Science, Sunspot Cycle, Solar Observation