"The First Photograph of The Moon"

One of the first pictures ever taken of the moon by Dr. J. W. Draper of New York, 1840.

At a time of year when days are short and the nights long, we in the northern hemisphere spend a good deal of time gazing at the night sky — an occupation that has always lent a particular sort of enchantment to our earthbound lives. Humanity’s fascination with what’s out there is hardly new: the desire to explore uncharted waters and discover new lands speaks volumes about our enduring curiosity, while the hold that a heavenly body like the moon has on our imaginations suggests that we’ve never limited our ambitions to the terrestrial realm.