The Weather Network – The day Pierre Janssen escaped a war via balloon to observe a solar eclipse

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The name Pierre Jules César Janssen may not come up during daily meals around the dinner table. But Janssen spent his days studying solar eclipses around the world. He invented the Photographic Revolver and escaped a war via hot air balloon.

Pierre Jules César Janssen (22 February 1824 – 23 December 1907). Courtesy of Wikipedia

Though it seems like Janssen did a lot of genius things in his day, today we’re going to discuss his solar eclipse expeditions. Namely, his December 22, 1870 expedition from France to Algeria.

On Thursday, December 22, 1870, Janssen left France right before the Battle of Hallue (fought as a part of the Franco-Prussian War from December 23 to 24, 1870) to observe a solar eclipse in Oran, Algeria.

Unfortunately, by the time Janssen made it to…