Skydiver free fall photo against the Sun goes viral

Photo: x.com/AJamesMcCarthy; photo editor: Serikzhan Kovlanbayev

American astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has captured a stunning photograph of a skydiver in free fall directly against the blazing sun — an image already dubbed «The Fall of Icarus.»

McCarthy said the photo was taken on Nov. 8 after «tremendous planning and technical precision.»

Photo: x.com/AJamesMcCarthy; photo editor: Serikzhan Kovlanbayev

The image shows the silhouette of a man flying across the bright solar disk. McCarthy believes the photograph may be the first of its kind.

The skydiver was identified as YouTuber and musician Gabriel S. Brown, who jumped from a height of about 1,070 meters at a distance of 2.5 kilometers from the camera. McCarthy and his team captured the perfect shot after six attempts to align the plane precisely with the sun.

Here’s a video showing how I captured @BlackGryph0n transiting the sun during free-fall. I still can’t believe we pulled it off! pic.twitter.com/b9h3oPFNoz

— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) November 14, 2025

According to the photographer, the biggest challenge was not the jump itself but tracking the plane in the sky. Despite his extensive experience, McCarthy admitted that keeping the aircraft in focus was difficult. The team had only one chance to execute the jump, as repacking the parachute would have taken too long and the sun would have moved out of the ideal position for the shot.

Since my recent skydiver transit shot is going viral, I thought I would share some of the other things I’ve caught transiting the moon or sun! pic.twitter.com/SipyTH56sh

— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) November 16, 2025

McCarthy said the image is one of the best of his career. He has gained recognition for his photographs of the International Space Station crossing the solar disk and for his images of solar ejections.