Reading view

Three Times That Solar Eclipses Transformed Science

From the discovery of new elements to the testing of novel theories of gravity, total solar eclipses have helped spark scientific progress for centuries

© SSPL/Getty Images

A telescopic view of the sun’s corona as seen from Sobral, Brazil during the total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919. Captured on an expedition organized by the physicist Arthur Eddington, this photograph and others were used to measure the deflection of starlight adjacent to the sun, validating predictions from Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
  •  

Three Times That Solar Eclipses Transformed Science

From the discovery of new elements to the testing of novel theories of gravity, total solar eclipses have helped spark scientific progress for centuries

© SSPL/Getty Images

A telescopic view of the sun’s corona as seen from Sobral, Brazil during the total solar eclipse of May 29, 1919. Captured on an expedition organized by the physicist Arthur Eddington, this photograph and others were used to measure the deflection of starlight adjacent to the sun, validating predictions from Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity.
  •  
❌