Experts at the British Film Institute (BFI) have restored the first video of a total solar eclipse and made accessible for the large public. The video was captured in North Carolina back in 1900 by Nevil Maskelyne.
Maskelyne was a British film-maker, and he captured the video while on a Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) expedition.
The video was carefully kept in the Royal Astronomical Society’s archives, and now conservation experts restored it to 4K.
This capture is Maskelyne’s second try to film a total solar eclipse. Filming it was difficult, as he had to create a special telescopic adapter for his camera. As said by the BFI and RAS, the video is Maskelyne’s only remaining work.
Maskelyne was a professional illusionist and also a member of The Magic Circle, a British art and entertainment of illusion and magic assembly. He transitioned from the magic world to being a film-maker as he firmly believed in science and even attempted to expose scientific fraud by founding the Occult Committee group.
As said by the RAS, Maskelyne considered himself as being a scientific investigator. A large number of people in the Victorian age were incredibly interested in illusions, spiritualism, and many other experiences of this kind. However, he was also profoundly captivated by astronomy, and this made him enlist in the Royal Academy Society as a member.
The Royal Academy society understood at an early time that astrophotography was crucial, and they delegated a permanent committee to manage the growing astrophotography collection in 1887. The video of the total solar eclipse was among that collection.
Dr. Joshua Nall, chair of the RAS’s Astronomical Heritage Committee said that this video is probably the oldest surviving astronomical film, and it is a compelling record of early cinema and also Victorian eclipse exploration.
Because the captured video is grainy and skittish just makes it look more appealing as a historical film.
Brad is a former Senior Fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, is an award-winning travel, culture, and parenting writer. His writing has appeared in many of the Canada’s most respected and credible publications, including the Toronto Star, CBC News and on the cover of Smithsonian Magazine. A meticulous researcher who’s not afraid to be controversial, he is nationally known as a journalist who opens people’s eyes to the realities behind accepted practices in the care of children. Brad is a contributing journalist to