Renowned astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has achieved what many would consider an impossible feat – capturing a perfectly timed photograph of a skydiver falling directly in front of the sun. The extraordinary image shows the silhouette of a person in free fall, taken before their parachute opened, requiring extreme precision and perfect timing to execute successfully.
McCarthy, who is well-known for his spectacular space photography, documented the entire preparation process and shared a behind-the-scenes video with his followers on Instagram (@cosmic_background). The American photographer set up multiple telescopes to record the celestial event, coordinating carefully with his friend Gabriel C. Brown, who performed the actual jump.
The complex operation involved Brown being lifted into position using a motorized paraglider while McCarthy provided precise positioning instructions to the pilot from the ground. McCarthy monitored a live feed of the jump on his laptop, watching as Brown's silhouette appeared against the sun before he leaped into free fall on McCarthy's command.
"I knew immediately that I had something special," McCarthy told Fox News in an interview about the moment he captured the shot. He explained that while the image was later processed and edited, the original photograph was already remarkably clear with no blurring or technical issues that would have ruined the dramatic effect.
McCarthy titled the striking image "The Fall of Icarus," drawing a visual parallel to the Greek myth in which Icarus flew too close to the sun and fell from the sky. The resemblance between the photograph and the ancient story is indeed unmistakable, with the human figure appearing to plummet past the bright solar disk.
This latest achievement adds to McCarthy's impressive portfolio of solar photography that has gained significant media attention, particularly in English-speaking countries. In December 2021, he published what he claimed was the clearest photograph of the sun ever taken, created by layering 150,000 individual solar images on top of each other. He also gained recognition for his photographs of Venus when the planet passed relatively close to the sun in early 2022.
The "Fall of Icarus" photograph is now available for purchase through McCarthy's personal online shop, allowing astronomy and photography enthusiasts to own a piece of this remarkable achievement. The image represents not only technical mastery but also the successful coordination between multiple people and precise timing that made this once-in-a-lifetime shot possible.
