With the help of the Sun… I will win!!

by Alessandro Ravagnin

Sometimes, creativity takes you to the most unexpected places. After countless classic shots of our beloved Sun, I decided to do something completely different—to create the strangest photo I’ve ever taken in my life. Once again, I chose the Sun as the main subject, but this time, I added a touch of vintage nostalgia from my childhood.

This idea had been in my head for months. But after seeing Andrew McCarthy’s spectacular (and slightly over-the-top) photo of a skydiver passing in front of the Sun in H-alpha, I finally got the push I needed to make it real.

These days it’s very fashionable to capture the Moon or the Sun passing behind objects of all kinds, from historic monuments to famous and iconic structures, and even skydivers. But no one has ever thought of photographing the Sun with him in front of it!! DAITARN 3!!

I still remember going to the cinema to see Pacific Rim by Guillermo Del Toro (absolutely fantastic): in the final scene, at one point Gipsy Danger was floating in front of the aliens’ sun, just about to explode, in a spectacular tableau that instantly reminded me of the famous Daitarn 3 scene—the giant robot piloted by Haran Banjo—flying in front of our Sun with its long sword raised toward the sky.

The spark ignited precisely on that day, while I was enjoying the movie Pacific Rim (we’re talking about 2013!!), and deep down I knew that sooner or later I would take a photo of the Sun with Daitarn 3 in front of it!

And that day has finally arrived!!!

First of all, I had to get myself a proper giant robot. At the beginning of December I decided to treat myself to an early Christmas present and bought the splendid plastic model “SMP Daitarn 3” by Bandai, purchased on eBay from a private seller for the crazy price of 179 euros (impossible to find in stores). I assembled it in two days, and this morning I hung it with extra-strong dental floss from a beam on my balcony.In the afternoon I waited for the Sun to sink a bit and come out from behind the clouds, in order to attempt a test shot directly from the field in front of my house. No luck—grey smoke….

So I changed strategy and moved about 200 meters further south, bringing with me a ladder, hockey sticks, adhesive tape, scissors, telescope, ASI2600MC, Celestron power bank, Mylar filter, notebook, dental floss and him, Daitarn 3.

I hastily assembled a support for the robot (locking its rotation with a piece of tape on one arm… there was a bit of wind) and then moved about 40 meters to the east. ChatGPT had in fact suggested this distance to obtain a faithful reproduction of the famous scene from the opening theme of the 1980s cartoon, considering the relative sizes of the Sun imaged with the Tecnosky 72 mm at 430 mm focal length and the 18 cm tall model.

Between the muddy ground of the field thawed by the night freezer and the little mounds made by hibernating marmots, I searched for the right spot to set up the equipment.

Then I waited, with mounting excitement, for the right moment… and what a thrill!! An absolutely wonderful spectacle. I don’t know why, but I had an incredible amount of fun and felt deeply moved watching the silhouette of the robot appear in front of the solar disk as it was about to set—just like in the opening theme I loved so much when I was very, very young.

A jolt to the heart that brought my childhood rushing back. With this latest adventure, I wish everyone a happy end and beginning of the year, closing with…

AND WITH THE HELP OF THE SUN, I WILL WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOLAR ATTACK……… ENERGYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Post-credits scene

For anyone who might be doubtful about the authenticity of the photo… or for those who are simply curious to see the setup… here are the documentary photos from the day!! An incredible amount of fun…