A Schuylkill County woman is capturing photos of the sun, stars and comets right from her backyard.

Samantha Sutton most recently captured a major X Class solar flare - the type that is responsible for the colorful atmospheric phenomenon known as the northern lights or aurora borealis,

“During the pandemic, I purchased my first telescope as a means to ‘escape’ the lockdown. It quickly grew into an obsession, and I learned about astrophotography,” explained Sutton, of St. Clair. “I connected with a mentor from across the state who helped me really delve into it.”

She started photographing the night sky with just a camera and tripod. Since then, her setup has grown much larger, and includes special equipment to photograph the sun.

She most enjoys taking photos of deep sky objects, such as nebulae and galaxies.

“They will always have my heart,” she said. “But I’ve recently fallen in love with also shooting the sun. I’ve captured solar flares, coronal mass ejections and surface features and prominences.”

The very faraway subjects are shot just steps away from her home.

“I actually don’t travel. I shoot exclusively from my backyard,” she explained.

While she’s captured some amazing images, she said she was “extremely excited” to finally see an X-class flare. According to Space.com, solar flares are powerful bursts of electromagnetic radiation that blast from the sun’s surface. They’re categorized in strength by letters, with the X-class being the most powerful.

“On Saturday (June 1), there was a major X1.03 flare from the hyperactive sunspot region 3697. Although a large flare, it was not eruptive and did not launch coronal mass ejections,” she said. “Now that the sun is approaching solar maximum, we are going to be seeing more of these, which means more chances to see the aurora.”

Sutton admitted that she’s always been fascinated with space.

She’s using her social media platforms to share her views of the universe with “others who may never see such things,” she said.

Sutton can be found on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram under the name starxxkitten.

“I am most active on TikTok lately since a video I posted just got over 5 million views,” she said.