A new numerical method of total solar eclipse photography processing

A new numerical method of image processing suitable for visualization of corona images taken during total solar eclipses is presented. This method allows us to study both small- and large-scale coronal structures that remain invisible on original images because of their very high dynamic range of the coronal brightness. The method is based on the use of adaptive filters inspired by human vision and the sensitivity of resulting images is thus very close to that of the human eye during an eclipse. A high precision alignment method for white-light corona images is also discussed. The proposed method highly improves a widely used unsharp masking method employing a radially blurred mask. The results of these numerical image processing techniques are illustrated by a series of images taken during eclipses of the last decade. The method minimizes the risk of processing artifacts.