Traveling from Portugal to Texas for the 2024 total solar eclipse, one man captured an incredibly detailed shot of the sun’s white aura.
Joining him for the once-in-a-lifetime experience was his partner, Apolónia Rodrigues, who played a vital part in planning the trip for them to be in the exact path of the eclipse. After a week of tracking the weather forecast in Texas and figuring out the best location, together they succeeded in getting the spectacular image.
Mr. Claro, 47, told The Epoch Times that photographing a total solar eclipse is probably “the most advanced and complex task” in all of astrophotography.
The planning for the trip began months in advance. Even with all the preparation, many things can still go wrong, he says, and it may be necessary to suddenly switch to a plan A, B, or C at the very last minute.
The couple started in Dallas, driving to Houston and then on to the city of Pearsall, southwest of San Antonio. But with a “terrible” forecast, they decided to take a risk and head back north, closer to Oklahoma. The day before the event, they returned to Dallas and, on the morning of the eclipse, made for the town of Clarksville in the state’s northeast.
“At 10 a.m.,” Mr. Claro said, “the sky was still cloudy.”
With just two hours to go before the moon was due to cover the sun, the photographer and his partner found a “nice, green, calm” farm for their setup, which included six cameras complete with lenses, tripods, mounts, filters, cables, and other equipment.
“The farm’s owner kindly allowed us to stay,” Mr. Claro said, calling the next couple of hours “the most stressful time” in their lives.
Fortunately, “like a miracle,” just five minutes before the start of totality, the sky cleared up in the location of the sun.
“During the ’maximum'—the four minutes, 28 seconds of totality—it was completely crystal clear,” Mr. Claro said. “It was just magical!”
Fulfilling his goal of capturing an image capable of revealing the solar corona in all its glory is a dream come true for Mr. Claro—who is also an author and science communicator specializing in astronomy.
After enjoying an overwhelming response to his limited-edition fine art print, Mr. Claro is now looking forward to showcasing upcoming eclipses in 2026, 2027, and 2028 in Portugal and Spain.
It’s important, Mr. Claro says, to stress that no part of his image was AI-generated: “It’s the result of a real amount of hard work, and captured and processed manually by myself. I’ve not used any fancy AI software, not even to reduce noise.”
Mr. Claro says that achieving his glorious image would never have been possible without the support of “some good friends; they know who they are, and their place in our thankful hearts.”
“This image is dedicated to them, but especially to my dear Apolónia as she planned every detail of this expensive trip,” Mr. Claro said.
“Last but not least, I feel thankful to our lovely sun for being mesmerizingly beautiful and for appearing in between the clouds for long enough to make every drop of sweat count!”
