This photograph taken by Alexandra Hart in 2014 shows a close up view of the Sun, with filaments of erupting over the limb. The focus of the picture is the active region AR11974, which framed in this way resembles the imprint created when stones hit the surface of a pond, with the magnetic filaments as the ripples.

The Sun's boiling surface curves away beneath us in this evocative shot, which powerfully conveys the scale and violence of our parent star. The tortured region of solar activity on the left could swallow up the Earth several times with room to spare.

Born Digital photograph entitled 'Ripples in a Pond', taken by Alexandra Hart in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire.
Taken with a TEC140 refractor; EQ6 Pro mount; Solarscope DSF 100 mm f/18 lens; PGR Grasshopper 3 camera
Winner in Our Solar System category of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014.