Total eclipse of the sun
1881-1882
French astronomer-turned-artist Étienne Léopold Trouvelot captured the eerie beauty of the 1878 Wyoming solar eclipse in this haunting illustration. Using a telescope, he sketched the sun's ghostly corona rays and a tiny pink solar prominence dancing on the edge of the moon's black shadow. While these 1882 prints are celebrated for their scientific accuracy and dreamlike quality, Trouvelot has a notorious legacy: he accidentally introduced the invasive gypsy moth to North America while trying to breed silk worms!