De la Rue, Warren [key], 1815–89, British scientist and inventor. Especially noted as an astronomer, he was a pioneer in celestial photography. He adapted the wet-plate process to lunar photography and invented (1858) for Kew Observatory a photoheliograph, the first device to give good solar pictures. His photographs of a solar eclipse in 1860 demonstrated that prominences observed at the sun's edge are of solar origin. De la Rue is known also for his research in chemistry, solar physics, and electrical discharge through gases. His inventions include an envelope-folding machine (1851).
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