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P3549-196 Photograph, silver gelatin print, sepia toned, camels pulling a car used on the Cordillo Downs eclipse expedition, paper, photographer unknown, possibly near Mount Hopeless, South Australia, September 1922, used by Sydney Observatory, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1922-1979. Click to enlarge.

Photograph of Cordillo Downs 1922 eclipse expedition

On the 21 September 1922 an eclipse of the sun passed across the centre of Australia providing optimum conditions for observations.

The scientific community used this opportunity to confirm Einstein's prediction that light passing the sun would be bent by gravity, by 1.76 seconds of arc. As a result an Adelaide party, under the direction of George Dodwell, set up their equipment at Cordillo Downs. Mr. Kennedy used pack camels to transport the telescopes and other instruments some 400 miles …

Summary

Object No.

P3549-196

Object Statement

Photograph, silver gelatin print, sepia toned, camels pulling a car used on the Cordillo Downs eclipse expedition, paper, photographer unknown, possibly near Mount Hopeless, South Australia, September 1922, used by Sydney Observatory, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1922-1979

Physical Description

Photograph, sepia toned, camels pulling a car used on the Cordillo Downs eclipse expedition, near Mount Hopeless, South Australia, September 1922, paper / silver gelatin, photographer unknown, used by Sydney Observatory, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1922-1979

A black and white photograph showing a car being pulled over sand by three camels. A man can be seen behind the steering wheel, another next to the car and two other men are tending the camels.

Marks

In pencil on the back of the photograph '1/129/c'.

Dimensions

Height

165 mm

Width

217 mm

Cite this Object

Harvard

Photograph of Cordillo Downs 1922 eclipse expedition 2022, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 30 March 2023, <https://ma.as/382146>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/382146 |title=Photograph of Cordillo Downs 1922 eclipse expedition |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=30 March 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}