Photographs of a star cluster

Made:
1885 in Ealing
photographer:
Andrew Anslie Common

Pair of identical photographs of a star cluster by Dr. A.A. Common taken using dry plates with a 36-inch reflecting telescope with silver-on-glass mirror from his home in Ealing, West London.

Photographs of an open star cluster, taken around 1883-5 by Andrew Ainslie Common (1841-1903), an acclaimed early pioneer of astrophotography, a successful heating engineer and amateur astronomer. This image was made using Common's 36-inch reflecting telescope at his home in Ealing, West London, England. It is one of the first examples of a high-resolution photograph of a star cluster, showing far more stars than could be recorded using earlier photographic techniques. Open star clusters are collections of hundreds of star that form together in galaxies and slowly disperse over millions of years as they evolve.

Details

Category:
Astronomy
Object Number:
1885-97
Materials:
paper, card and complete
Measurements:
overall: 1.5 x 410 x 410 mm
type:
black-and-white prints (photographs), astrophotographs and open star cluster
credit:
Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine

Parts

Photograph of a star cluster

Photograph of a star cluster

One of two identical photographs of a star cluster by Dr. A.A. Common taken using dry plates with a 36-inch reflecting telescope with silver-on-glass mirror from his home in Ealing, West London.