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
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
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.
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
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
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
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