Here is the final version of the corona image captured during the Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024.

I posted my first image of the eclipse a little over two weeks ago. It was my very first experience processing a total solar eclipse image, and I was happy with my results. Meanwhile, I knew that my RAW images had more potential and details that needed to be uncovered. A few days after posting the first version, I started working on an updated version of the Solar Corona Image.

The last two weeks were spent trying different methods and processing techniques to achieve the best possible result. In short, I manually aligned and stacked individual images captured during the period of totality. The alignment was done by either using details of the corona (on shorter exposures) or star alignment (on longer exposures). Aligning shorter exposure images was more challenging due to fewer details available for use as alignment points.

Another challenging part of the process was creating an HDR image. It needed to be a perfect blend of each exposure with a smooth transition from one exposure to another so that the resulting image would contain the best details from each subframe. Although I usually process some of my deep sky images this way, composing the Total Solar Eclipse HDR image was much harder because I missed some exposure stops during totality. However, I was able to create a good HDR image with the exposures I had on hand.

The next step was revealing fine details of the corona. At first, I used Gaussian blurred images as layers to subtract from the HDR image; however, after reading the description of the eclipse image by Bray Falls, I used a different approach that gradually improved my results and allowed me to reveal more details of the corona. Later, I was playing with different high-pass filter layers at different values to bring out various scale details of the corona. Some gradients of the image were removed with the help of PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop. Surprisingly, I was able to reveal more background stars this time. Using masks in Adobe Photoshop, I slightly highlighted them. When creating a mask, I was also checking my image with a planetarium image to make sure I actually highlight a star and not an artifact of the image.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and I would be happy to reply.

Processing the image of the total solar eclipse is, in fact, one of the most challenging tasks I have undertaken in astrophotography. I really enjoy the final result, and I look forward to processing images captured with an old 135mm lens. This setup was fully automated, and it worked well so that I should have less processing challenges (at least that is what I hope for).

P.S. Below are some links to sources I used to improve my knowledge and processing skills:

- Exmouth Eclipse Expedition - 20th April 2023
- Eclipse Photography: Reveal Totality In HDR
- In the Shadow of the Moon - The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Corona
- Digital Compositing Techniques for Coronal Imaging