Zdenek Hel, Ph.D., a professor in the UAB Department of Pathology’s Division of Molecular and Cellular Pathology, traveled 1,000 miles to capture photos of the 2024 solar eclipse at totality on April 8, 2024.

Hel, alongside his family, watched the eclipse in Atkins, Arkansas, a location in the line of totality. He captured photos using a Nikon D600, a Nikkor 70-200 MM and a solar filter mounted on a makeshift device made from a cardboard box. The photos show protuberances forming a massive loop of solar plasma hovering above the visible surface of the sun. These protuberances form in a single day but can last up to several months.

“We didn’t know where we would be watching until just 90 minutes before the eclipse. Then suddenly the skies cleared and we found a beautiful spot beside a lake,” Hel recalls. “We swam in the lake during the solar eclipse and had a very unique viewing experience!”