#edmund wiess

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday Eclipse Edition!

Today’s total solar eclipse will be the last of its kind visible from the contiguous United States until 2044! Even if your location is not on the path of totality and the weather forecast may not cooperate for ideal viewing, you can still expect some uncanny experiences as the moon passes between the sun and earth. The sky will darken like dawn or dusk and may confuse animals’ circadian clocks, temperatures will drop, and during totality viewers may be able to see planets accompanied by a 360-degree sunset.  

In celebration of the day, we’re sharing chromolithographs from Bilder-Atlas der Sternenwelt by Austrian astronomer Edmund Weiss (1837-1917). This pictorial astronomy atlas was published by J.F. Schreiber in 1888 and contains forty-one celestial chromolithographs, including the two shown here that capture the perfect eeriness and magic of a solar eclipse. 

Happy eclipsing and remember to wear protective eclipse glasses while viewing! 

Read other Milestone Monday posts here! 

– Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern