Says photo shows “the sharpest image of the sun ever recorded.”
Photo of sun is digitally enhanced, not the “sharpest image” ever recorded
If your time is short
• The photo, from 2021, has been "heavily software-processed" and digitally enhanced, the photographer said.
• In March, the highest resolution photo of the sun’s full disk and its corona was captured by a satellite.
A Facebook post that claims to show the sun as you’ve never seen it is not what it seems.
The May 8 post has a caption that says a photo shows “the sharpest image of the sun ever recorded.” In the image, the sun has the appearance of being covered in a soft material, similar to hair or fur.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
The photo is a “heavily software-processed image,” photographer Jason Guenzel wrote in a Jan. 20, 2021, Twitter post about the image. He also explained in a 2021 interview that he had digitally enhanced the image by using software to sharpen it and change its contrast.
“Walking the thin line between science and art … perhaps blurring it a bit,” Guenzel tweeted.
Our Sources
CNET, "Solar Spacecraft Snaps Best Image Yet of the Sun's Disc and Corona," March 24, 2022
European Space Agency, "Zooming into the Sun with Solar Orbiter," March 24, 2022
Facebook post, May 8, 2022
New York Times, "These Images Show the Sun’s Surface in Greater Detail Than Ever Before," Jan. 29, 2020
PetaPixel, "Photographer’s Solar Photo Reveals the Twisted ‘Surface’ of the Sun," Dec. 27, 2021
Twitter post, Jan. 20, 2021
