Solar System Winner: Australian Totality

The scorching hot outer atmosphere of the sun—known as the corona—pops into view solely during the fleeting moments of a solar eclipse, as seen here in this award-winning composite photo taken in Australia during the totality on November 14, 2012.

The above image is a combination of 81 individual exposures. They have been digitally stacked together and enhanced to bring out the solar corona's filaments and waves, which resemble ghostly tentacles reaching out into the overhead sky.