🚀 Cosmic sniper
US astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy just did the impossible: he became the first to capture a rocket crossing the Sun’s chromosphere in insane detail.
Finding the perfect spot was a quest — calculations down to a meter, tips from hardcore launch spotters. On Sept 6, McCarthy lugged a custom telescope to Florida, parked 13 km from the Falcon 9 pad, and waited. The crossing lasted milliseconds — but his rig nailed it.
The trick? Shooting in the hydrogen emission line, which revealed the Sun’s chromosphere — plasma filaments, gas bursts, and all that fiery chaos — with a rocket silhouette cutting through.
As McCarthy said: “Shots like this existed, but never with this level of detail.” Falcon 9 officially has the hottest selfie ever. 🔥