These close-up images of the Sun are so crazy, you won’t believe they’re real

Some astrophotographers know when they’ve landed a killer shot, and Mark Johnston, who also happens to be a NASA solar system ambassador, has managed to capture one such photograph of the Sun from his backyard in Arizona. Johnston shared the image with Digital Camera World , and they’re so highly detailed that they almost look computer generated.

Mind you, capturing images of the Sun can be difficult business. That’s because even looking at our solar system’s star through a camera lens can be extremely dangerous. As such, capturing detailed photographs like those showcased in Johnston’s portfolio takes the right equipment and a good eye for detail.

We’re currently in the midst of what scientists call a solar maximum—essentially, it’s when the Sun is at its most active. That means a lot of sunspots and solar events like coronal mass ejections and solar flares. It also means a lot of great chances to snap some cool photographs of the Sun.

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An extremely detailed photo of the Sun captured by a space probe. Image source: NSO/AURA/NSF

The images that Johnston captured this time around are nothing short of outstanding, too, with the landscape in Arizona providing a clear shot up to the star that our planet orbits. And, because his particular location is located in the mountains of Arizona, he’s able to peer through the atmosphere without as much effort.

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That makes for some amazing shots, and it’s honestly hard to look at these photographs of the Sun and not feel like we’re looking at promotional material generated by a computer. The sheer amount of detail here is outstanding and certainly required a particularly powerful telescope to pull off.

We’ve seen similarly detailed images of the Sun from other astrophotographers, too, and Johnston joins the ranks of those who have managed to capture our solar system’s central star in a light that we would not be able to experience any other way. Ancient physicists could only have dreamed of seeing the Sun in this much detail.

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