How an Astrophotography Pioneer Captured New Zealand's Historical Night Sky

Glass plate negatives from early astronomer John Grigg capture New Zealand's night sky in 1892

[Moon] (1892) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

An astrophotography pioneer

John Grigg was New Zealand's leading amateur astronomer at the turn of the 20th Century. Renowned for discovering three comets from 1900-1910, Grigg was also a pioneer in astrophotography - the technique of photographing astronomical bodies, usually using a telescope.  

April 1/92 8 hours [Moon] (1892-04-01) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Waxing crescent - April 1st 1892

April 2/92 Evening [Moon] (1892-04-02) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Waxing crescent - Saturday April 2nd 1892

April 2/92 Evening [Moon] (1892-04-02) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Waxing crescent - April 2nd 1892

April 4/92 9 hours [Moon] (1892-04-04) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

First quarter - April 4th 1892

April 11/92 12 hours [Moon] (1892-04-11) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Waxing gibbous - April 11th 1892

Moon April 11/92 12 hours (1892-04-11) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Waxing gibbous - April 11th 1892

April 12/92 12 hours [Moon] (1892-04-12) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Full moon - April 12th 1892

[Astronomical body] (1892) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

For an amateur astronomer isolated in New Zealand with little funds, innovation and ingenuity were an integral part of Grigg's toolkit to develop his astrophotography equipment.

April 1/92 8 hours [Moon] (1892-04-01) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Grigg designed and constructed a prime-focus camera, which was attached to the eye-piece of his British 3.5-inch Wray refractor telescope. Images from the camera were exposed onto glass plates directly from the telescope to create negatives.

[Sun with sunspots] (1892) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

The glass plate negatives in MOTAT's collection are photographed by this camera, capturing some of the first images of the solar system ever taken in New Zealand.  This black and white image of the sun, shows seven dark areas which are sunspots - cooler spots which appear darker due to areas of higher magnetic activity 

Venus April 1/92 (1892-04-01) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Taken with a slow exposure, this image captures Venus as it moves across the night sky on April 1st 1892.

Saturn Feb 16th (1892-02-16) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Dashes of light show the movement of Saturn across the night sky, with the areas of darkness due to intermittent cloud cover on February 16th 1892.

[Astronomical body] (1892) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Capturing the movement of another planet, this image is undated and unidentified - likely a planet which is bright in the night sky, such as Jupiter or Venus

April 1/92 Wrays "2 1/2 Finder [Moon] (1892-04-01) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

As one of the earliest astrophotographers in New Zealand, Grigg's work shapes the way we see our night skies.     

Feb 6th 11 hours [Moon] (1892-02-06) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Though he never published, Grigg showed his astronomical images to the public during lectures or local exhibitions in shop windows in Thames. 
Waxing gibbous - February 6th 1892 11pm

Feb 9th 11 hours [Moon] (1892-02-09) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Waxing gibbous - February 9th 1892

Feb 12th 8.30 pm [Moon] (1892-04-12) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Full moon - February 12th 8.30pm

Feb 16th 12 hours [Moon] (1892-02-16) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

In the 120 years since these images were taken, Grigg's pioneering of astrophotography has influenced contemporary New Zealand astronomers now sharing their work on a world stage. 
Third quarter - February 16th 1892

Feb 16th 12 hours [Moon] (1892-02-16) by John Grigg, PhotographerMOTAT

Waning gibbous - February 16th 1892

Credits: Story

by Freya Elmer  Assistant Librarian, Walsh Memorial Library, MOTAT

Sources:
Covington, M.A. Astrophotography: part four. All about prime-focus imaging. Retrieved from:  https://astronomy.com/-/media/Files/PDF/web%20extras/2011/07/Prime-focus%20imaging.pdf 

Maggy Wassilieff, 'Astronomy – overview - The first astronomers', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra:.govt.nz/en/photograph/7992/comet-photographed-by-john-grigg (accessed 16 December 2020)

Orchiston, W., 2016. Exploring the History of New Zealand Astronomy: Trials, Tribulations, Transits and Telescopes (Cham, Switzerland, Springer)

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12377, 16 December 1905, Page 10. Retrieved from  https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19051216.2.38

Thames Advertiser, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8352, 13 February 1896, Page 3. Retrieved from: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/THA18960213.2.29

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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