Met unveils 1854 solar eclipse daguerreotypes ahead of 2017 eclipse

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has released seven daguerreotypes of the first solar eclipse visible in North America, captured on May 26, 1854. The images were taken by German-born brothers William and Frederick Langenheim, who operated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 1854 eclipse lasted 2 hours and 22 minutes and was visible from Oregon to Maine. The Langenheims likely used eight cameras to record the Moon's movement across the Sun in sequence; one plate is missing, possibly showing the total eclipse. Each daguerreotype is a unique image on a silver-iodide-coated copper plate. The Met displayed the works to the press and online to coincide with the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse crossing the United States from Oregon to South Carolina. The 2017 eclipse will last over 2 minutes of totality and begin at 18:26 Italian time, visible fully from Iceland, Scotland, and Ireland, and partially from northern Europe.