“A Familiar Star, Seen Like a Distant World”

At first glance, this scene may appear to capture a distant, cloud-wrapped exoplanet illuminated by the glow of a foreign sun. But look closer — this is our own Sun, photographed from Earth during a quiet sunset in Rajasthan, India.

As evening clouds drifted across the solar disk, they sculpted the star’s face into something almost unrecognizable. The result evokes the appearance of a faraway world suspended in a red-hued alien sky — a poetic reminder that even familiar objects, seen in the right light, can appear extraterrestrial.

The rich red-orange gradient in the sky is caused by Rayleigh scattering — the same physical process that colors Earth’s sunsets, and one that behaves differently on planets like Mars, where sunsets can appear blue. Framed between silhouetted trees and captured with a narrow field of view, this image blends terrestrial beauty with cosmic imagination, highlighting how the everyday skies above us can echo the distant universe.

Technical Details:
      •     Camera: Canon 5D Mark IV
      •     Lens: Samyang 135mm f/2
      •     Settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/25 sec (manual exposure)
      

•     Processing: Minor contrast and tone adjustments; no compositing or manipulation.