Observing a solar eclipse, 1673. Johannes Hevelius (1611-1687), a wealthy Polish brewer and councillor of Danzig devoted much time and money to astronomy. Hevelius, left, and an assistant, studying the sun during a partial eclipse. As viewing the sun directly would have damaged their eyes, they are in a darkened room and the sun's image is being projected through a telescope onto a piece of white paper. From Machina Coelestis by Johannes Hevelius. (Danzig, 1673).