SPACE — Long before cameras morphed into sophisticated eyes that capture clarity, photographing space objects was still difficult. The first image of the moon, the celestial object closest to Earth was taken by New Yorker John William Draper on March 23, 1840.
Draper was a physician, scientist, and photographer who studied photochemistry to come up with better ways to take pictures. Before Draper photographed the moon, another photographer Louis Daguerre had tried to do the same, but the images were blurry.
Capturing the moon in what is called a daguerreotype image involved long exposures, and Daguerre encountered some technical difficulties tracking the movement of the moon with his telescope. Draper also tried several times before successfully getting the first photo of the month.
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Draper took a 20-minute exposure with a 5-inch telescope to create a lunar daguerreotype. He then announced the results publicly on March 23. Source: Space.com
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