University of Hertfordshire student Regina Valkenborgh's image composed from a six-month exposure of the sun using a pinhole camera

THIS spectacular photo shows the path of the Sun over a six-month period – and it was taken by a cider can, lined with a piece of photographic paper.

Regina Valkenborgh at the Bayfordbury Observatory

University of Hertfordshire fine art student Regina Valkenborgh managed to capture the image, highlighted as NASA’s ‘Astronomy Picture of the Day’ on its website last Saturday, by using the very basic in photographic technology – a pinhole camera.

The 44-year-old told the Welwyn Hatfield Times she has been using camera-less photography as part of her course for a while, but this snap – which has featured in national newspapers – was probably her best picture to date.

“I think it was mainly down to luck,” said the modest Belgium-born Regina, who was exploring with light exposure.

“To be fair, it’s an extremely good image considering the amount of time it was taken over, because they do have a tendency to be blurry. But I never expected it to have so much coverage.

The pin hole camera tied to a lamp post

“I showed it to a professor and he sent it to NASA, which for me is incredible as a massive science fiction fan.”

The picture was taken in a fixed spot above the telescopes of the Hatfield uni’s Bayfordbury Observatory, where the mum-of-one attends a workshop for youngsters to capture similar photos once a month.

The simple camera continuously recorded the Sun’s track each day, between June and December, as the star’s glowing trail burned onto the paper.

For more of Regina’s work click on our link (top right).