The total solar eclipse of 18 July 1860 was probably the most thoroughly observed eclipse up to that time. The three drawings are a sample of drawings produced at that time which include depictions of a peculiar feature in the SW (lower right) portion of the corona. Based on comparison with modern coronal observations, it is quite likely that these represent the first record of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) in progress.

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Drawings of the 1860 eclipse by G. Tempel (left) von Feilitzsch (middle) and F.A. Oom (right)

Today CMEs are known to represent one of the more energetic --and geoeffective-- manifestation of solar activity, with up to 10 billion tons of material being ejected into interplanetary space at speeds reaching up to 1000 kilometer per second. For more detail on CMEs see slide 13 and slide 14 of the HAO slide set).