Discovery of Helium from Andhra Pradesh
150th anniversary of fingerprinting the Universe
#Dr. Niruj Mohan Ramanujam
#18 August 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the element Helium that happened during a Total Solar Eclipse observed by European astronomers from Machilipatnam and Guntur in 1868.
Helium remains the only element to have been discovered first in space, before being found on Earth. The story of this discovery itself is fascinating – the truth behind who among Janssen, Lockyer and Pogson (of Madras Observatory) should get the credit, was cleared up only a few years ago. More importantly, this discovery truly marks the beginning of modern Astrophysics. This beginning is intricately linked with the history of thermodynamics, atomic theory, and chemistry.