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Astrophotographer snaps skydiver falling in front of the sun
- loloquwowndueo 1y ago> The silhouette of Brown is neatly demarcated against the bubbling surface of the Sun. His downward trajectory is perfectly framed between sunspots, active regions on the surface of the Sun that are slightly cooler than their surrounding areas. This is not just a pretty picture; it is truly a masterpiece Excuse me while I go wash off the stench of AI-generated descriptions. The picture is very nice, though.
- causal 1y ago> This is not just a ... Dead giveaway
- JumpCrisscross 1y agoKagi just launched an AI flagging feature. This is something HN needs. I don’t mind AI content. But I’m not going to read it carefully before commenting, and will double check it with real sources before changing my mind about anything.
- squigz 1y agoHas AI content detection become at all competent?
- cindyllm 1y ago[dead]
- Swenrekcah 1y agoI think we probably need to go the other way, a comment or article needs a ‘faceId’ check before submission to get human stamp. Of course that brings a whole another set of problems.
- squigz 1y agoThat sort of thing is trivial to bypass and is a massive privacy violation.
- wizzwizz4 1y agoIt's only a massive privacy violation for honest folk!
- bethekidyouwant 1y ago“Encryption is easy — authentication is hard.”
- dylan604 1y agoFine, I'll just set up a head made by some SFX type that looks real enough for camera work.
- codingdave 1y agoFrom what I have seen, AI can detect AI better than humans. Humans are bringing baggage into it and vilifying legit writing techniques just because AI uses them. The whole concept that AI was trained on human writing, therefore uses well-known and proven writing techniques, but that those techniques are not exclusive to AI is utterly lost on some people. The "dead giveaways" are not writing patterns, it is depth. AI will stay at a surface level when using argumentative writing patterns, whereas humans will add supporting information and connect the dots across sentences and paragraphs. It is the lack of connective language between thoughts and phrases that flag an AI.
- TylerE 1y agoHN can't even get it's web front end out of the 90s or meet basic accessibility standards.
- loloquwowndueo 1y ago*its
- wizzwizz4 1y agoAnd yet, HN is one of the few sites that works (near-)perfectly in Lynx.
- notahacker 1y agoSpeaking of real sources, the photographer discusses how it was taken and and answers questions on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1ow9mys/the_most_preposterously_fakelooking_real_photo/ https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1ow9mys/the_most...
- dredmorbius 1y agoFor us Old fans: <https://old.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1ow9mys/the_most_preposterously_fakelooking_real_photo/ https://old.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/1ow9mys/the_most...>
- schiffern 1y agoAI-diom (n.) - an idiom which, while not exclusive to AI, is so frequent in AI output as to strongly suggest its use
- bryantwolf 1y agoI prefer ‘clankerism’
- BuyMyBitcoins 1y agoLet’s bump up the AI even more, instead of “dead giveaway” you should have used hence.
- dylan604 1y agoit's from iflscience which I would be shocked if there were more than 10 humans working for that site. it is so heavily loaded with ads/tracking that it gives no indication of giving a shit about its readers. i saw several parts of the site not loading due to uBO. just to see what was missing, i disabled uBO and after refreshing was presented with a blocking popup that says "our site depends heavily on" blah blah with a link to how to disable the blocker for the site. however, that's how i got to the modal was by disabling the blocker. the site was more functional with it enabled. again, what would one expect from a site that has that feel of doing nothing than hoping to generate a viral headline just to infect those unfortunate to have actually followed the link
- 1gn15 1y agoWho cares?
- wincy 1y agoIt’s a very cool picture. Andrew McCarthy sells prints of these and other astrophotography on his website[0] although they’re always limited run prints. I bought the one of the sun with a SpaceX rocket for a friend who is into astronomy. As a sales strategy, making his photos limited edition is a fantastic way to put the pressure on to actually buy instead of thinking about making a purchase indefinitely, even if from a convenience standpoint it’s a little annoying. Looks like right now the 16”x20” edition is sold out, but other sizes are still available for about two days. [0] https://cosmicbackground.io/pages/the-fall-of-icarus https://cosmicbackground.io/pages/the-fall-of-icarus
- dahart 1y ago> making his photos limited edition is a fantastic weay to put the pressure on to actually buy FWIW, limited edition printing is absolutely standard practice for working artists who use media that can be easily or mechanically replicated, including photographers, printers, and digital artists. The feeling of FOMO that it instills is indeed one reason, that benefits the artist, but the main reason limited editions are used is to add value to the art through scarcity, and this reason benefits you the buyer. People don’t want to be the first to find and buy something unique only to have it get so popular that all your friends and neighbors go buy the same thing, right? The story of uniqueness is important. There’s a very real perception that art that can be reproduced indefinitely and is always available is cheap and not really fine art. Limited editions prints are trying, even if half-heartedly, to compete with painters and sculptors who produce something unique every single time. I say half-heartedly as a digital artist who prints limited editions, not as an insult. There is a slight degree of having cake and eating too. Limited editions are usually sized near the estimated sales limit, or such that the artist can move on to selling other work without feeling like they lost a big opportunity. Limited edition print runs do lower the price of a print, but not as low as the cost of printing. If an artist does editions of size 1, they need to make enough money to live, and $90/print won’t do it if you only sell one. You can spread the profit across a run and give a group of people something for a low price instead of giving one person a high price.
- LargeWu 1y ago
- jstanley 1y agoAm I right in thinking he flew up there in a paramotor and then jumped off it? What happened to the paramotor? It just crashed in a random place you have no control over?
- mistrial9 1y agoLOL - the deeper mythological meanings are quite applicable (!) What meanings, a reader might ask? First to say, art and mythos can have layers of meanings..There is no "right answer" exactly. think for yourself a moment about "falling" "The Sun", "a son", endeavor, catastrophe, and add knowledge or fate as you see fit.
- yzydserd 1y agoI sort of like it upside down, power of ra.
- russdill 1y agoWatching the video, the difference between the actual frame captured and the manipulated stacked image that's being presented is quite stark.
- dahart 1y agoIs the full-sun photo edited to remove the paramotor? I just realized it was in the video shot - the head-down dive “tracking” position of the skydiver in the video happens only a few frames after jumping, only for a few frames, and after that he’s tumbling a bit against the sun, with the paramotor still visible. I’m guessing even if the video and still were two different cameras, they wouldn’t have been far enough apart to catch the skydiver without the paramotor?
- __atx__ 1y agoApparently it took multiple tries to get this right. It is possible that the video is from one of the earlier failed attempts.
- bangaladore 1y agoOn a Reddit thread somewhere, the OP mentioned the sun is taken as a mosaic, where the picture taken with just the person is a very small FOV which excludes the paramotor.
- cletusw 1y agoIn the behind the scenes video the photographer makes an offhand comment that yes, he was going to take the silhouette of the skydiver (and maybe some of the immediate surroundings) and composite it with a mosaic of sun images taken around the same time (but without the paramotor present).
- Springtime 1y agoI recall one of their earlier composites of the sun which was comprised of 90k (!) images and feel that's an acceptable approach to represent the detail and scope desired, yet with this skydiver shot I feel differently in that there is an original shot of the event that is an actual through-the-lens capture but it's not being used and instead the foreground element (the silhouette) is being masked and composited onto a much more detailed composite sun. It's effectively artwork now. Like if a photo of Philippe Petit's WTC wire walking were instead masked and replaced with separately shot towers—it'd represent the event but technically not the actual snapshot in time it occurred, which kind of reduces the connection with the interesting concept at least for me.
- ChrisArchitect 1y ago[dupe] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45919692 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45919692
- dang 1y agoRelated. Others? I captured my friend transiting the sun during a skydive - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45919692 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45919692 - Nov 2025 (12 comments)
- dvh 1y ago"what comes up must come down" -- Icarus
- dotancohen 1y ago"That's not my department" said Wernher von Braun.
- GMoromisato 1y agoThis is a classic example of a simple idea that no one had ever done before. The execution was complex, of course, and Andrew McCarthy is one of the most skilled astrophotographers. But once you get the idea, a number of people could have done it--but no one ever did. Makes you wonder what other similar ideas are out there! You can bet McCarthy is already thinking some. p.s.: My brush with celebrity is that I saw an Andrew McCarthy post on Quora when he was first getting started with astrophotography and gave him a few tips. Always important to remember that everyone was a beginner at one point: https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-pro-tips-for-astrophotography-How-would-one-photograph-Andromeda/answer/Andrew-McCarthy-18?comment_id=75140208&comment_type=2 https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-pro-tips-for-astrophotog...
- mjamil 1y agoYour advice there is really valuable. Thanks for providing it. I've always wondered how to post-process my night images, and this is a really good guide for that.
- GMoromisato 1y agoGlad it helped! I definitely encourage you to continue practicing post-processing. There is a lot of magic there, and it's fun too.
- pdpi 1y agoLove that technique with splitting B&W and colour, doing processing on B&W, then recombining. It's incredibly obvious in hindsight, especially with how common it is in digital art to draw in B&W and colour "in post". A fun little egg of Columbus that I'll be having some fun with over the holidays. Thanks for the link!
- nullhole 1y agoI had an idea for survey planes once. During calibration, they fly grid patterns, basically like a hashmark (#), to get overlapping data for comparison. Doing that kind of flight at night (makes sense for lidar! not so much for photo..), against a clear sky with at least some stars, and stacking the resulting photos, would give you a grid pattern of green/red/white aircraft running lights in front of the heavens.
- dazbradbury 1y agoBe great to have the same shot but in front of the moon. Photos would make a stunning pair!
- temptemptemp111 1y ago[dead]
- almosthere 1y agoI have to say, well done.
- sswaner 1y agoPerhaps just me still carrying some latent trauma, but the upside down, legs bent moment reminded me of a picture from 9/11. Not going to link to it.
- doctaj 1y agohttps://archive.ph/OrVxL https://archive.ph/OrVxL
- amatecha 1y agoBetter post IMO: https://petapixel.com/2025/11/14/sun-skydiver-photo-andrew-mccarthy/ https://petapixel.com/2025/11/14/sun-skydiver-photo-andrew-m...
- cosmic_ape 1y agoTbh, do not quite get the excitement around this picture. It was staged, and the stunt doesn’t appear to be particularly complex. A lot of logistics, sure. But seems like all there is to it is that someone just bothered to do it. So not clear what’s the additional value over photoshop.
- mvcosta91 1y agoTry to reproduce it yourself, bro.
- cosmic_ape 1y agoA lot of logistics, as mentioned. If you’d like to explain what’s in there beyond that, I’ll be glad to hear.
- jeanlucas 1y agothe novelty, you didn't do or think of that before. It was well executed and novelty. You can't do it, you also didn't think of it before. What value are you adding?
- cosmic_ape 1y agoThis isn't about me though, no point in making this personal. I'm just trying to understand what's interesting about this picture. You are saying that just because nobody took that particular combination before, it is enough of a reason, right?
- jeanlucas 11mo agoWhat is interesting is the novelty on itself, but you already refused to understand that. You can't force someone to understand what they refuse because they think there's something else.
- fxwin 1y ago
- NetOpWibby 1y agoDeus Ex: Human Revolution intensifies
- K0balt 1y agoVery unique and cool image. I was curious at first if this was planned, or if it was a bizzare coincidence… I’m not sure whether to be enthralled or disappointed. On one side is the wonderful creation of chaos, on the other is a marvel of photographic engineering.
- criddell 1y agoI’m get a box right away asking me to turn off my ad blocker. I’m not running an ad blocker…
- FrameworkFred 1y agosame :(
- helsinkiandrew 1y agoI think the same photographers ISS passing infront of the Sun and moon are more impressive: https://www.demilked.com/iss-in-front-of-sun-and-moon-andrew-mccarthy/ https://www.demilked.com/iss-in-front-of-sun-and-moon-andrew...
- ZebusJesus 1y agoGreat photo for science and art at the same time!