On July 28, 1851, the first-ever photo of a total solar eclipse was recorded by a Prussian daguerreotypist named Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski.
Daguerreotypy is an old photographic process that uses silver-plated copper treated with chemical fumes that make it light-sensitive. Previous attempts to take photos of solar eclipses failed to show the contrast between the sun's corona and the dark disk of the moon. Using a small, six-centimeter telescope, Berkowski captured an 84-second exposure starting right after the moon moved completely in front of the sun.
00:04In 1851, the first ever photo of a total solar eclipse was recorded by a Prussian daguerreotypist named Johann Julius Friedrich Burkowski.
00:12Daguerreotypy is an old photographic process that uses silver-plated copper treated with chemical fumes that make it light sensitive.
00:18Previous attempts to take photos of solar eclipses failed to show the contrast between the sun's corona and the dark disk of the moon.
00:24Using a small 6 centimeter telescope, Burkowski captured an 84 second exposure starting right after the moon moved completely in front of the sun.
00:32And that's what happened on this day in space.
