The Moon,

1851

Using the Harvard College Observatory’s 15-inch refracting telescope and his newly patented albumen-on-glass negative process, Whipple took the first clear renderings of the moon in 1851. He collaborated with William Bond, director of the observatory, to fit a clockwork drive mechanism to the telescope, allowing it to track the moon and thereby permitting exposures long enough to achieve sharp images. At London’s Crystal Palace (on view in this room), Whipple’s images of the moon were proclaimed "the finest production ever brought before them" by the French Academy of Sciences and opened the world’s eyes to the potential of astronomical photography.