Région Centrale (Taches et Granulations), September 5, 1893, 6h 45m 2s
Jules Janssen
French, 1824–1907
August 5, 1877-June 22, 1894
A woodburytype photograph by astronomer Jules Janssen made to fix, at a single moment, the Sun’s surface — its dark sunspots and the fine, mottled granulation of the photosphere.
You first notice a wide, silvery-dark plane of tiny, hairlike textures that reads like a vibrating skin, punctured by a few deep, ink‑black pits and smudged clusters that insist on being read as sunspots.
As an early example of astrophotography, Janssen’s image used photographic reproduction to make transient solar phenomena legible and comparable, helping to transform astronomy into a visually documented science and opening photographic techniques to systematic study of the heavens.
Medium
woodburytype
Dimensions
21 1/8 × 17 9/16" (53.7 × 44.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Horace W. Goldsmith Fund through Robert B. Menschel
Accession
360.2010.24
Palette
Exhibitions
