With the 2024 solar eclipse drawing near, the timing was perfect under clear daytime skies to take a peek at the sun through a white light filter -- and am I glad I did! Solar activity has increased quite a bit since the last solar eclipse in 2017, and this is well-evidenced by a fabulous set of sunspots, most particularly in the sunspot group 3615 (AR13615) which released a huge X-class flare just hours after this image was taken.

With the white light filter, I am able to perfectly tune expected exposure times that I'll use during the partial phases of the upcoming eclipse. Despite the density of the solar film, I still require extremely fast exposures at 1/8000s. This speed turns into benefit as the shorter exposure times tend to cut through any atmospheric disturbances just a bit better, and this is proven by the great detail I was able to grab across the disc and within the marvelous sunspots on display.

As anticipation for the solar eclipse grows, I can only hope this is a perfect sign that we'll have fabulous prominences behind the outer edges of the moon during totality.