Turkish astrophotographer Mehmet Ergün bagged the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 award for his stunning capture of ‘The Great Solar Flare’. The award was presented to him in the People’s Choice Award category. The picture, clicked using an H-alpha solar telescope, shows a sizable solar flare.
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“Your votes have been counted! ‘The Great Solar Flare’ is the winning image in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year People’s Choice,” wrote Royal Museums Greenwich while sharing a picture of the winning photo on Instagram.
The museum also shared the explanation that the photographer provided for his photograph. It read, “Here we see our Sun, photographed using an H-alpha solar telescope. The Sun is moving towards its maximum cycle, and in the photo, we can see a large solar flare.”
Mehmet Ergün further shared what solar flares are in layman’s language: “Solar flares are sudden bursts of magnetic energy on the surface of the Sun. These eruptions can be very large, as seen in the image. According to our calculation, this solar flare is about 700,000 km long; Earth has a diameter of about 12,700 km.”
Take a look at the picture of The Great Solar Flare here:
Ergün also shared the news on his Instagram account. He expressed gratitude towards the people who voted for his photo, thereby helping him win the award. Ergün wrote, “After almost 15,000 votes online and at the exhibition, the winner of the ‘Astronomy Photographer of the Year’ People’s Choice Award was finally announced! We made it! Your incredible support and valuable votes made me really win.”
{{/usCountry}}Ergün also shared the news on his Instagram account. He expressed gratitude towards the people who voted for his photo, thereby helping him win the award. Ergün wrote, “After almost 15,000 votes online and at the exhibition, the winner of the ‘Astronomy Photographer of the Year’ People’s Choice Award was finally announced! We made it! Your incredible support and valuable votes made me really win.”
{{/usCountry}}“It’s hard to express how thankful I am. Each of you contributed to making this dream come true. Such recognition for my works has endless meaning to me. Almost 10 years ago I would have never imagined this. Knowing that my work excites and inspires you fills me with indescribable joy. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he further expressed.
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