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Observing a Solar Eclipse on January 1, 1907 near the Cherniaevo Station in the Tian-Shan Mountains above the Saliuktin Mines. Golodnaia Steppe

1907
This unusual photograph shows preparations for observing a total solar eclipse on January 1 (14 in the Gregorian calendar), 1907, at the Cherniaevo Station settlement near the Saliutkin Mines in the Tian-Shan Mountains. Located in Central Asia near the border between China and present-day Kyrgyzstan, the range derives its name from the Chinese for “celestial mountains.” The first Russian to study the mountains was the noted Russian geographer Peter Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, who explored the region in 1856 and 1857. The high elevation and clear dry air were ideal for observation purposes. The group has set up two telescopes. On the left is a small meteorological device. In the background is a yurt for protection against the bitter cold. Some of the objects and figures are “ghosted” because of slippage in the exposure process under extreme conditions. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire.

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acku Afghanistan
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KYRGYZSTAN
1907<br /> This unusual photograph shows preparations for observing a total solar eclipse on January 1 (14 in the Gregorian calendar), 1907, at the Cherniaevo Station settlement near the Saliutkin Mines in the Tian-Shan Mountains. Located in Central Asia near the border between China and present-day Kyrgyzstan, the range derives its name from the Chinese for “celestial mountains.” The first Russian to study the mountains was the noted Russian geographer Peter Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, who explored the region in 1856 and 1857. The high elevation and clear dry air were ideal for observation purposes. The group has set up two telescopes. On the left is a small meteorological device. In the background is a yurt for protection against the bitter cold. Some of the objects and figures are “ghosted” because of slippage in the exposure process under extreme conditions. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire.