Levi ben Gershon's camera obscura and Jacob's staff
Cámara oscura y báculo de Jacob de Levi ben Gershom
- Date
- 1328 · confidence medium
- Place
- Orange, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
- Credited to
- Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides)
- Field
- Communication
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
In his Wars of the Lord, Gersonides describes an angle-measuring instrument (Jacob's staff) and the use of the camera obscura to observe the Sun and eclipses with a projected image. It is one of the earliest described astronomical uses of the camera obscura.
Earlier descriptions exist of using the camera obscura for eclipses (Alhazen, Roger Bacon, Peckham); Gersonides' priority is only for certain measuring uses. He lived in Orange and Avignon.
What it led to
- eclipse observation by projection
- Jacob's staff as a nautical and astronomical instrument
- spread of the camera obscura in European astronomy