00:00 On this day in space.
00:03 In 1914, a total solar eclipse temporarily darkened skies across Europe and Asia.
00:08 A young German astronomer and friend of Albert Einstein's, Erwin Finley Freundlich,
00:12 led an expedition to the Crimean peninsula of Russia, where he hoped to record observations
00:16 that would verify Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity.
00:19 This theory predicted that the light from distant stars, appearing very close to the sun's edge,
00:23 should shift due to the curvature of space.
00:26 Those stars would only be visible during a total solar eclipse when the moon blocks out the sun's bright light.
00:31 Unfortunately, the start of World War I just 20 days before the eclipse spoiled the expedition.
00:36 After Germany declared war on Russia, Freundlich and his colleagues were captured by the Russians,
00:40 effectively canceling the expedition.
00:42 And that's what happened on this day in space.
00:45 [ ♪ ]
