The Peruvian Eclipse Expedition

Filmed during the Hayden Planetarium-Grace Peruvian Eclipse Expedition, 1937. Charles H. Coles, head of the AMNH photographic department, was the official photographer and seized the opportunity to make this film on his own time. George Clyde Fisher, curator of astronomy at the AMNH-Hayden Planetarium, led the expedition. The film opens with a train traveling up the Peruvian Andes toward the summit camp and views of the Andes. The staff visits the Huancayo market where the natives sell foodstuffs, blankets, wool, and animals. The trip continues up to Cerro de Pasco which is 14,600 feet above sea level. Here the staff sets up telescopes and William H. Barton, associate curator of the AMNH-Hayden Planetarium and executive officer of the expedition, checks the camera driving clock; each member of the expedition staff is shown. The film ends on June 8, 1937, with footage of the solar eclipse and the effects it has on the atmosphere.