Photograph Showing the Troposphere, the Stratosphere and the Curvature of the Earth, November 1935
Add to SetSummary
Taken from a balloon at the record-setting altitude of 72,395 feet, this was the first photograph depicting the division between the lowest two layers of Earth's atmosphere. The photographer, U.S. Army Air Corps Captain and aerial photography pioneer Albert W. Stevens, also captured the curvature of the Earth, the Bighorn Mountains of Montana and Wyoming, and the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Taken from a balloon at the record-setting altitude of 72,395 feet, this was the first photograph depicting the division between the lowest two layers of Earth's atmosphere. The photographer, U.S. Army Air Corps Captain and aerial photography pioneer Albert W. Stevens, also captured the curvature of the Earth, the Bighorn Mountains of Montana and Wyoming, and the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Artifact
Print (Visual work)
Date Made
May 1936
Subject Date
11 November 1935
Creators
Stevens, A. W. (Albert William), 1886-1949
National Geographic Society (U.S.)
Place of Creation
Creator Notes
Published as a supplement to the May 1936 National Geographic Magazine, from a photograph taken by A. W. Stevens in November 1935.
Location
Not on exhibit to the public.
Object ID
57.34.1
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Technique
Printing (Process)
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 18 in
Width: 25 in
Inscriptions
printed on front below image: THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPH EVER MADE SHOWING THE DIVISION BETWEEN THE TROPOSPHERE AND THE STRATOSPHERE AND ALSO THE ACTUAL CURVATURE OF THE EARTH--PHOTOGRAPHED FROM AN ELEVATION OF 72,395 FEET, THE HIGHEST POINT EVER REACHED BY MAN written on front, lower right corner: For Mr. Henry Ford / A.W. Stevens
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