A Celestial Prodigy

What is it about?

Is it possible to see an ‘impossible eclipse’? _x000D_ According to Pliny, the horizontal eclipse is a ‘prodigy’, because the Sun and Moon are aligned at 180 degrees on opposite sides of the Earth and are both visible at the same time. On 16 June 1666 such celestial event was due to occur and Leopoldo de’ Medici, prince and collector, organized a number of observations from different locations in Italy while others were planned in other countries. Almost all of them failed but an unknown young astronomer in an unknown island in the Mediterranean managed to do what seemed impossible._x000D_

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