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First Photographed Total Solar Eclipse

When: July 28, 1851
Where: Royal Observatory in Königsberg, Prussia
Part of: First photographed total solar eclipse

Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski captured the first scientifically useful photograph of a total solar eclipse at the Royal Observatory in Königsberg.

Commissioned by the Royal Prussian Observatory, Berkowski produced a daguerreotype on July 28, 1851. This image was the first correctly exposed photograph of the solar corona, overcoming the extreme contrast challenges of early photography. It marked the first accurate photographic recording of a solar eclipse.

Sources

Solar eclipse of July 28, 1851 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-25

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