The earliest extant photograph of the moon: Draper, John W., “First Astronomical Photograph - Draper's Moon Daguerreotype,”
Greenwich Village History, accessed January 6, 2012,
http://aphdigital.org/GVH/items/show/119.
On this day in 1839, French photographer
Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre (
1789–
1851) took the
first photograph of the moon. This photograph was burned in the March 8, 1839 fire that destroyed Daguerre's laboratory. The photograph was actually a
daguerreotype, an early method of photography named after Louis Daguerre. During this photographic process a silver-coated copper plate is treated with iodine vapor. Prior to this invention, pictures of the moon for texts and articles had to be drawn by hand.
My favorite moon photos are those with astronauts walking around, because they make me imagine what that might feel like. What are your favorite moon photos?
