EveryÂone has been agog over the first phoÂtos from the James Webb teleÂscope, and for good reaÂson. “These images,” RivÂka Galchin writes at The New YorkÂer, “carÂry news about the earÂly uniÂverse, the birth and death of stars, the colÂliÂsion of galaxÂies, and the atmosÂphere of exoÂplanÂets.” They’re also “very, very pretÂty,” she writes, comÂparÂing them to VerÂmeer.
The clarÂiÂty and levÂels of detailed inforÂmaÂtion about the earÂliÂest galaxÂies have even astonÂished astronomers, whose work has advanced rapidÂly alongÂside the growth of the phoÂtoÂgraphÂic mediÂum. It was an astronomer, in fact – Johann HeinÂrich von Madler – who first coined the word “phoÂtogÂraÂphy” in 1839. “Astronomers quickÂly embraced the use of phoÂtoÂgraphÂic plates because of their good resÂoÂluÂtion and the abilÂiÂty to make much largÂer images,” APS Physics News notes.
AstrophoÂtogÂraÂphy propÂerÂly began in 1840, when John William DrapÂer, a British-born chemist and docÂtor, took the image above from the roof of the New York UniÂverÂsiÂty obserÂvaÂtoÂry, credÂitÂed as the first daguerreoÂtype of the Moon. Daguerre himÂself might have takÂen an 1839 image, but it was likeÂly destroyed in a fire, as were Draper’s attempts of the preÂviÂous year, which burned up in a NYU blaze in 1865.
By all accounts, howÂevÂer, these earÂliÂer attempts at Moon phoÂtogÂraÂphy were blurÂry and unfoÂcused, showÂing litÂtle detail of the Earth’s satelÂlite. Draper’s lunar “porÂtrait,” from 1840, at the top, is largeÂly conÂsidÂered “the world’s first true astrophoÂto,” writes Jason Major at Lights in the Dark, for its levÂels of detail and high conÂtrast, comÂparÂaÂtiveÂly speakÂing. As Scott WalkÂer writes:
DrapÂer set out to try and improve on Daguerre’s breakÂthrough by increasÂing plate senÂsiÂtivÂiÂty and reducÂing expoÂsure times.… His advanceÂment in the techÂnique allowed visuÂalÂizaÂtion of craters, mounÂtains and valÂleys on the moon’s surÂface which preÂviÂousÂly couldn’t be capÂtured.
Splotched, spotÂted, and heavÂiÂly degradÂed, the image may not look like much now, but a conÂtemÂpoÂrary of DrapÂer described it then as “the first time that anyÂthing like a disÂtinct repÂreÂsenÂtaÂtion of the moon’s surÂface has been obtained.”
The achieveÂment was inspiÂraÂtional, and many betÂter attempts soon folÂlowed in rapid sucÂcesÂsion as the mediÂum evolved. In 1851, phoÂtogÂraÂphÂer John WhipÂple and father-and-son astronomers William and George Bond improved on DrapÂer’s process and made the Moon daguerreoÂtype furÂther up through the Great RefracÂtor EquaÂtoÂrÂiÂal Mount TeleÂscope at the HarÂvard ColÂlege ObserÂvaÂtoÂry. (The year preÂviÂous, DrapÂer himÂself colÂlabÂoÂratÂed with Bond père to make an image of the star Vega). The image caused a “verÂiÂtaÂble furor,” Smart HisÂtoÂry notes, at the Great ExhiÂbiÂtion of 1851.
Between 1857 and 1862, astrophoÂtogÂraÂphÂer and amaÂteur astronomer WarÂren De La Rue made a series of stereoÂscopÂic Moon images (lovÂingÂly preÂserved online by astroÂphysiÂcist and Queen guiÂtarist BriÂan May), one of which you can see furÂther up. De La Rue had seen WhipÂple’s daguerreoÂtype at the Great ExhiÂbiÂtion and began innoÂvatÂing his own process for creÂatÂing stereoÂscopÂic astrophoÂtographs. At the same time, DrapÂer’s son, HenÂry, “an accomÂplished astrophoÂtogÂraÂphÂer and one of the most famous AmerÂiÂcan astronomers of his day,” Kiona Smith writes at Forbes, had takÂen over his father’s Moon phoÂtogÂraÂphy project. See an 1863 image takÂen by the younger DrapÂer just above.
“Before the invenÂtion of phoÂtogÂraÂphy,” notes APS News, “astronomers had to sketch what they saw in their teleÂscopes by hand, often missÂing cruÂcial details.” Daguerre and DrapÂer’s innoÂvaÂtions, and those that came soon afterÂward, “showed them a far supeÂriÂor method was posÂsiÂble.” It is astonÂishÂing that these results could be achieved only a few decades after the first phoÂtoÂgraph, takÂen in 1826 by NicĂ©phore NiĂ©pce. It is maybe even more astonÂishÂing that only a cenÂtuÂry and a half or so latÂer — a meanÂingÂless drop in the cosÂmic timescale — astrophoÂtogÂraÂphy would look beyond the moon to the very oriÂgins of the uniÂverse itself.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
The First PhoÂtoÂgraph Ever TakÂen (1826)
The Full RotaÂtion of the Moon: A BeauÂtiÂful, High ResÂoÂluÂtion Time Lapse Film
Josh Jones is a writer and musiÂcian based in Durham, NC. FolÂlow him at @jdmagness