Chronocinematograph is an

astronomical instrument An astronomical instrument is a device for observing, measuring or recording astronomical data. They are used in the scientific field of astronomy, a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos, with t ...

consisting of a

film camera A movie camera (also known as a film camera and cine-camera) is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either onto film stock or an image sensor, in order to produce a moving image to display on a screen. In c ...

, chronometer and

chronograph A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has hour and minute hands on the main dial to tell the time, a small seconds hand to tell that the watch is running, and ...

. The device records images using a more precise timetable for observing an eclipse. It was invented in 1927 by a Polish astronomer, mathematician and geodesist Tadeusz Banachiewicz for observing total

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

s. During the same year, Banachiewcz used his device for solar observations in

Lapland (Sweden) Lapland, also known by its Swedish name Lappland, is a province in northernmost Sweden. It borders the Swedish provinces of Jämtland, Ångermanland, Västerbotten, and Norrbotten, as well as Norway and Finland. Nearly a quarter of Swed ...

, then in the US (1932) and Greece, Japan and Siberia (1936). The invention enhanced the precision for determining the time of an eclipse, due to more precisely timed photos of

Baily's beads The Baily's beads, diamond ring or more rarely double diamond ring effects, are features of total and annular solar eclipses. Although caused by the same phenomenon, they are distinct events during these types of solar eclipses. As the Moon cover ...

, and quantifying the duration of totality. This could not have been observed as closely as before due to the brightness of the sun.

References

Astronomical instruments {{tech-stub