sun

36 Awe-Inspiring Sun, Moon, and Milky Way Photos of 2020

The popular outdoor photo planning app PhotoPills has picked 36 of the best Sun, Moon, and Milky Way photos captured by photographers in its community over the past year. If you need some photo inspiration and enjoy night sky shots, this is the gallery for you.

Photographer Catches the ISS Crossing the Sun and Moon

Photographer Andrew McCarthy is known for shooting incredible astrophotography images from his backyard in Sacramento, California. He recently added two more jaw-dropping images to his portfolio: ultra-clear views of the International Space Station (ISS) crossing the Sun and Moon.

This is an Ultra-High-Resolution Photo of a Sunspot

The largest solar telescope in Europe has captured groundbreaking photos showing the fine-structure of the Sun. This photo captured at 430nm shows the details of a sunspot, an area that appears dark on the surface of the Sun because it's cooler than other parts around it.

New Solar Orbiter Sends Back Closest Pictures Ever Taken of the Sun

NASA and the ESA's new Solar Orbiter is off to an auspicious start. The spacecraft's very first images of the Sun—captured from within 48 million miles of our closest star—weren't just taken from closer than ever before... they've already revealed a new solar phenomenon.

This 10-Year Timelapse of the Sun was Made from 425 Million Images

NASA has released a new timelapse titled "A Decade of Sun," and it's exactly what it sounds like. Using 425 million images captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) since it began monitoring the sun in 2010, NASA has created a timelapse of the sun in which every second represents one day.

This Sun Eruption Photo Was Shot from a Backyard

When most people hear the words "backyard astrophotography", they probably think of photos of the Milky Way, planets, or galaxies, but did you know it's possible to capture some amazing close-up photos of the Sun as an amateur photographer?

These are the Highest Resolution Images Ever Taken of the Sun’s Surface

The National Solar Observatory has just released the highest resolution images and video ever taken of the sun's surface. The images, captured with the National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, capture the sun in unprecedented detail, revealing features as small as 18 miles (30km) in size for the first time ever.

How to Fix Blown Out Areas Around the Sun

Shooting directly into the Sun, whether it is sunrise or sunset, often results in some areas around the Sun getting clipped, and we get these rather harsh edges in our sky. Even when shooting bracketed or underexposing for the highlights, we may not achieve a pleasing result around the strongest light in a scene.

A photo captured by a NASA probe from within the Sun's corona

This is the First Photo Shot Inside the Sun’s Corona

NASA's Parker Solar Probe is on a mission to explore the Sun's corona (basically its atmosphere), and the robotic spacecraft recently made the closest-ever approach to a star. NASA just shared a remarkable photo share by Parker: the first photo ever shot from inside the Sun's corona.

How to Photograph Bugs in Front of a Sunrise

I’ve been taking photos for a long time. That said, I got into the bad habit of taking tons of disjointed photos. That is, I was not thinking of my work as project-based nor was I using my photos to really tell stories. Over the last few years, however, I’ve engaged in more project-based work. Last summer, I created several photo stories of various insects and this summer, I tried something entirely new – a photo series depicting insects and spiders awakening to the sunrise.

How to Shoot Better Portraits in Harsh Sunlight

Wedding photographer and Nikon Ambassador Brett Florens recently gave this 9-minute workshop demo on how you can shoot better portraits in harsh sunlight.

Laws of Light: Shooting in Direct Sun

A lot of the times when you’re shooting in direct sun, it’s very harsh on your subject’s face. Many people try not to put themselves in this situation because of it. Sometimes you have no choice, or maybe you like the location a lot so you have to put up with the challenge. Without any equipment, the sun can create harsh shadows and an unflattering look on your talent.

This Short Film Was Shot at 2520mm

"Sun Moon London" is a beautiful 3-minute short film by photographer and filmmaker Luke Miller, who captured scenes of the sun and moon illuminating the city of London through a 2520mm-equivalent lens.

5 Tips for Photographing in Harsh Midday Sunlight

You may have a favorite time of day to do an outdoor photo shoot, but sometimes you might not have the luxury of picking the perfect time and lighting conditions. Here's a 4-minute video from photographer Kayleigh June that details a number of ways you can cope with harsh light from a midday sun.

This is How Shooting the Sun Can Melt Your Camera

Planning to photograph the upcoming solar eclipse? You'd better make sure you have the right solar filter to protect your camera. Here's a 2-minute video that shows how shooting the sun without protection can completely melt your DSLR's guts.

Shoot Better Golden Hour Portraits by Harnessing the Sun

The golden hour is popular amongst landscape photographers, but it is definitely worth utilising this for outdoor portraiture. By positioning the sun behind or in front of the subject, the lighting is changed dramatically. It's just like having a giant light on in the studio, but it is golden and delicious in the evening.

Photos of Volleyball Stars Spiking the Sun

Back in 2015, photographer Dustin Snipes shot a viral series of photos for Red Bull showing NBA star Anthony Davis dunking the Sun. He recently revisited the concept by shooting USA volleyball stars using the Sun as a ball on the beach.

NASA Captures Mercury Flying Across the Sun

Mercury just passed between the Earth and the Sun yesterday, a rare "planetary transit" that occurs about 13 times every 100 years. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft shot highly detailed photos of the astronomical event, and the beautiful time-lapse above is what resulted.

These Photos Show the Sun Bouncing During 24-Hour Sunlight in Antarctica

If you ever visit Antarctica in the summer, you'll find yourself in a place where there's 24 hours of sunlight in a day. Instead of setting in the horizon and ushering in the night, the Sun "bounces" on the horizon and rises up again -- it's a bounce that can be captured in a series of photos captured through a day.

Video: How to Use the Sun During Shoots at Sunrise, Noon, and Magic Hour

The sun can be a photographer’s best friend: it is a constant source of light that lasts all day and doesn’t require any power from your end to keep it up and running. However, knowing how exactly to work with a source of lighting that changes over time can be a bit difficult. In the 6-minute video above, director of photography Jon Salmon and his team show us how to use the sun during various times of the day to obtain the ideal lighting during a shoot.

A $6 IKEA Storage Box Makes for a Thrifty Collapsible Laptop Sun Shade

Need to block out some sunlight and glare from your laptop screen during outdoor photo shoots? Instead of dropping some cash on a pricey sun shade or hood, you could go a thriftier route and use an IKEA storage box instead. They cost just $6, are extremely light, and can be collapsed to not take up extra space in your bag.

This Photo Shows a Halo Created by Both the Sun and the Moon

This unique and beautiful image shows sun and moon haloes side by side. There was perfect halo conditions in the sky yesterday in Östersund, Sweden, so Swedish astrophotographer Göran Strand went out and shot a photo of the 22° solar halo.

10 hours later, after day had turned to night, Strand returned to the exact same location and photographed the moon with its 22° lunar halo. The image above is a photo that blends the day and night images together with the halos perfectly matching.

What Outdoor Photos Would Look Like with Other Stars and Planets as Our Sun and Moon

The photo illustration above shows what a photo of a sunset here on Earth would look like if the sun were replaced with Arcturus, one of the brightest stars in our "neighborhood."

The Russian Federal Space Agency recently released a couple of "Alternative History" videos that imagine what the sky would look like if the Sun were replaced with other stars and if the moon were replaced with planets in our solar system.