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A photographer has captured an 'absolutely preposterous' snap of a skydiver appearing to fall from the sun.
The stunning image, titled 'The Fall of Icarus', was taken by astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy, who specialises in taking photos of the sun.
Mr McCarthy says that it took 'immense planning and technical precision' to make it seem like the Earth–bound skydiver was tumbling through outer space.
The skydiver, musician Gabriel Brown, jumped from a small propeller–powered paramotor from an altitude of around 3,500 feet (1,070 metres).
To get both the sun and Mr Brown in focus, Mr McCarthy's camera had to be positioned on the ground almost two miles (3.2 km) away.
That gave the photographer just a fraction of a second to capture the precise moment Mr Brown passed in front of his lens.
The spectacular results have gone viral on social media, with space and photography fans flocking to share their praise.
Even SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to X to congratulate Mr McCarthy, writing: 'Nice shot'.
Despite weeks of planning and precise calculations to work out the best possible position, capturing this unlikely shot still took extreme patience.
The small, light aircraft proved to be far less predictable than hoped, and getting it in just the right spot proved extremely challenging for pilot Jim Hamberlin.
Mr McCarthy told Daily Mail: 'Getting the alignment right was a huge challenge and lesson in patience.
'There were many passes with the aircraft that were so close but not good enough, and they ended up circling for an hour until they were aligned correctly with my narrow field of view.
'I absolutely love the contrast of the small human against our huge, dynamic star. It's the juxtaposition that makes this so special, and feels so optimistic. Like despite our small size, we're capable of so much.'
Incredibly, after several attempts to get the alignment right, Mr McCarthy and Mr Brown were able to capture the shot on the very first jump of the day.
Mr Brown wrote on X: 'I can't BELIEVE we pulled it off.
'It took months of planning and a stupid amount of math, but I couldn't be happier with the result! Best skydive of my life!'
After being shared on social media, The Fall of Icarus soon went viral as impressed fans gushed over the stunning image.
Even NASA astronaut Don Petit, widely regarded as one of the world's best photographers, praised Mr McCarthy's work, writing on X: 'Wow!'.
Meanwhile, another commenter chimed in: 'My mind is gonna explode trying to figure out how the hell you plan these shots.'
'WOW!!!! That is wildly brilliant,' one enthusiastic fan added.
Another wrote: 'Incredible. Pure excellence.'
Although the sun is roughly 93 million miles (150 million kilometres) from Earth, Mr McCarthy's photo still reveals an amazing level of detail.
Behind the silhouetted skydiver in The Fall of Icarus, you can see the dark, cooler patches of sunspots and the thin stripes of filaments created by the sun's swirling magnetic fields.
This is possible because the photo was taken in a part of the visible light spectrum where small details aren't drowned out by the sun's bright outer layers.
In particular, Mr McCarthy shoots in the Hydrogen–alpha band, which is a wavelength of light produced by the sun's cooler regions.
This blocks enough light to look at the sun through a telescope without being blinded, but not so much light that the details are totally lost.
Mr McCarthy has used this same technique to capture other stunning 'transit photos' of objects passing in front of the sun.
Earlier this year, he captured a 'once–in–a–lifetime' shot of the ISS passing in front of the sun at the exact moment a solar flare erupted into life.
He has also photographed a SpaceX rocket passing in front of the sun during launch, as well as ultra–high definition images of the lunar surface.