First Daguerreotype of Total Solar Eclipse, 175 Years On, Still Illuminates Solar Science
On July 28, 1851, the first successful daguerreotype of a total solar eclipse was taken by Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski in Königsberg, Prussia, utilizing a 2.4-inch refracting telescope with an exposure time of 84 seconds. Historian William B. Ashworth Jr. referred to Berkowski as "nearly anonymous." This photograph represented a significant advancement in solar astronomy. According to NASA's Kelly Korreck, total solar eclipses happen every 18 months and can last up to seven minutes. The European Space Agency plans to launch the Proba-3 mission in December 2024 to create artificial eclipses. Solar physicist Andrei Zhukov emphasizes that natural eclipses yield superior observations. Astronomer Shadia Habbal is set to observe the eclipse on August 12, 2026, in Spain, while the 2027 eclipse is anticipated to last nearly six minutes.
Key facts
- First daguerreotype of total solar eclipse taken July 28, 1851 by Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski
- Berkowski used a refracting telescope with 2.4-inch aperture and 84-second exposure
- Berkowski's full name was unknown until 2013
- Total eclipses occur somewhere on Earth about every 18 months
- Totality can last from ten seconds to around seven minutes
- ESA's Proba-3 mission launched December 2024 creates artificial eclipses
- Upcoming August 12, 2026 eclipse path includes Greenland, Iceland, and Spain
- 2027 eclipse predicted to be longest of the century with nearly six minutes totality
Entities
Artists
- Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski
- Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre
- William B. Ashworth Jr.
- Anthony Aveni
- Shadia Habbal
- Kelly Korreck
- Kimberly Arcand
- Jenna Samra
- Andrei Zhukov
- Samantha Thompson
Institutions
- Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
- University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy
- NASA
- Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
- Harvard Plate Stacks
- European Space Agency
- Royal Observatory of Belgium
Locations
- Königsberg
- Prussia
- Kaliningrad
- Russia
- South Carolina
- New Mexico
- Zambia
- Svalbard
- Norway
- Greenland
- Iceland
- Spain
- Tunisia
- Kerrville
- Texas
- Dallas
- Washington, D.C.