Three sets of prominences were visible during the 2017 solar ecliopse.

• Telescope: Stellarvue SVA130T-IS
• Mount: Losmandy G-11 with Gemini 2 controller
• Autoguiding: No
• Optical Configuration: 0.72x field flattener & reducer (f/5); no solar filter during totality
• Camera: Canon 60Da
• Light Frame(s): Single, 1/500-sec exposure
• Calibration: None (no darks, no flats, no biases)
• Exposure Time: 1/500 sec
• ISO: 100
• Processing: Photoshop CC
• Imaging Location: Prairie City, Ore.

During the totality phase of a total solar eclipse, prominences sometimes can be seen along the limb of the sun. The image above shows three such prominences that appeared during the 2017 solar eclipse (The Great American Eclipse).

Prominences consist of a hot, dense plasma that typically follows magnetic field lines, arcing thousands of miles above the sun’s surface (photosphere).

An enhanced image of the solar corona shows detailed structure.

• Telescope: Stellarvue SVA130T-IS
• Mount: Losmandy G-11 with Gemini 2 controller
• Autoguiding: No
• Optical Configuration: 0.72x field flattener & reducer (f/5); no solar filter during totality
• Camera: Canon 60Da
• Light Frame(s): 6 frames from 1/500 sec to 1 sec
• Calibration: None (no darks, no flats, no biases)
• Exposure Time(s): 1/500, 1/250, 1/125, 1/60, 1/30 sec, and 1 sec
• ISO: 100
• Processing: Photoshop CC using HDR Pro
• Imaging Location: Prairie City, Ore.

This high-dynamic-range, high-contrast image, taken at totality during the 2017 solar eclipse, shows how the magnetic field of the sun becomes complex where there are local eruptions on the surface. Note the field loops on the left- and right-hand limbs, especially around the large prominence on the right. The magnetic field is little disturbed at the poles, though.

High-contrast study highlights the sun's coronal structure during the 2017 total eclipse.

• Telescope: Stellarvue SVA130T-IS
• Mount: Losmandy G-11 with Gemini 2 controller
• Autoguiding: No
• Optical Configuration: 0.72x field flattener & reducer (f/5); no solar filter during totality
• Camera: Canon 60Da
• Light Frame(s): 13 full-stop, bracketed exposures from 1/2000 to 2 sec
• Calibration: None (no darks, no flats, no biases)
• Exposure Time(s): 1/2000 to 2 sec in full-stop increments
• ISO: 100
• Processing: Photoshop CC using the Pellett method
• Imaging Location: Prairie City, Ore.

This image uses the Pellett method to create a high-contrast study of the sun’s coronal structure during the 2017 solar eclipse. Note how the plasma streamers of the corona trace the magnetic field lines of the sun, like iron filings around a magnet.