The first film in history about total eclipse was done by a magician

Eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon known to thousands of years ago, giving it enough bizarre stories, signs of disasters, disasters . Gradually over time, truth The phenomenon is also decoded by scientists: by the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are on a straight line.

Known for thousands of years, but when was the total solar eclipse recorded for the first time, did you know? It was a film made in 1900, by a . magician.

It is known that the video was recorded on May 28, 1900, by Nevil Maskelyne and recently restored by the experts from the British Film Institute (BFI).

Maskelyne was a magician, then switched to acting in the film industry, as a filmmaker. He made this video at the request of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), and it said the footage was his last remaining work today.

Total eclipse .

It was actually the second time Maskelyne tried to record a total solar eclipse. It first took place in 1898, when Maskelyne went to India to monitor and capture the event photo.

According to the documents, it is a very difficult process. Maskelyne had to build a telescope tube adapter to mount the camera. Unfortunately, the film was later stolen, so it wasn't until two years after humanity had a video about the first solar eclipse in history.

Maskelyne from a magician who turned into a film was actually perfectly reasonable in the Victorian era - the time of the intersection of everything, when science, magic and mysterious phenomena were gradually connected. He was not the only magician to learn about making films, to record his show.

Nevil Maskelyne.

But the way he works is different. Although he is an expert in magic and visual illusion, he has a firm belief in science, always looking for ways to explain all confusing phenomena. He works with a scientifically recognized organization, to focus on recording astronomical phenomena only.

"Cinema is a magic that combines art and science," said Bryony Dixon, a BFI retainer.

"Maskelyne wants a novel way to perform magic, and he chooses to record the most impressive natural phenomena."

According to RAS documents, Maskelyne always considered himself an explorer scientist. He was very interested in applying visual illusions, learning about the soul and many other strange phenomena. In particular, he was almost crazy about astronomy, and that's why he went to RAS.

The association then realized that it was important to save images of astronomical phenomena, so a council specialized in collecting them since 1887 has been established. Maskelyne's video is part of this collection.