Why don’t normal photos of the Sun show prominences or the corona, and how can you photograph them?

Question

In ordinary photos of the Sun, the disk usually looks like a smooth bright circle, without visible prominences, flares, or the corona. Why don’t those features show up in regular visible-light images, and what kind of equipment or technique is needed to photograph solar surface details safely?

user1375 · Answer

It's because that image is only capturing the visible spectrum. Most of the images you see of the sun are capturing the ultraviolet spectrum, where you see some really impressive explosions and coronal ejections:

_{(source: caltech.edu)}

That image was taken from space with a highly specialised scientific camera, but you can capture some details, including prominences using a DSLR in conjunction with an appropriate filter:

image (c) Kevin Lewis, source: http://www.photosbykev.com/wordpress/photography/pst-solar-imaging/

The filter used in this case was an Hα filter, designed to let through the frequency of light produced when an electron in a hydrogen atom changes energy state (it would be an understatement to say that there are a lot of hydrogen atoms in the sun). Note this is a multi exposure image with one exposure for the main disc and a separate longer exposure for the prominences (flares coming out of the sun).

Why don’t normal photos of the Sun show prominences or the corona, and how can you photograph them?

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