Even before NASA started providing us with stunning pictures from super-powered telescopes, we still enjoyed gazing upon images of heavenly bodies. These Victorian-era astronomy illustrations are simply beautiful, and they prove that modern technology doesn’t necessarily make for a better picture.

All created between 1868 and 1880 by the great French artist and astronomer Étienne Léopold Trouvelot, the illustrations are surprisingly sophisticated for their time. This was thanks in large part to Trouvelot’s access to the U.S. Naval Observatory’s 26 inch refractor which allowed him to see stunning astronomical detail.

It was only after seeing several auroras that Trouvelot became interested in astronomy. He was already working as an artist, so his two passions naturally combined to become a new, and quite successful, career.

The complete series of illustrations from which these selections were chosen consisted of 15 of Trouvelot’s finest. His favorite subject was the Sun, which he studied extensively. In addition to his detailed and deeply beautiful illustrations, Trouvelot published around 50 respected scientific papers. The artist and amateur scientist died in 1895, about a decade after this series was completed.

The post Vintage Victorian Space Illustrations Are Delightfully Detailed first appeared on Gajitz.

We hear you complaining: these modern cell phones are just too easy to use, too modern, too packed with features. And you wish you could find one that was too bulky to put into a pocket and so baffling to use that you almost can’t figure it out. Polish inventor J. Redmer heard you too, and that’s why he created this totally rad Steampunk cell phone that kind of looks like it could easily bludgeon someone to death (don’t try that at home).

The guts of the phone used to be a Sagem X-5M, but once Redmer got hold of it he built it into a custom wooden case with beautiful brass buttons. The one-of-a-kind phone is for sale on Etsy, but this kind of creativity doesn’t come cheap: it’ll run you $350. Unfortunately, the phone will only work in Europe – sorry, rest of the world.

As the creator of this gorgeous gadget says, it’s not a high-tech toy with tons of functions. But it will easily show up any of the new-fangled shiny phones people are all carrying around these days.

The post Calling History: Totally Gorgeous Steampunk Cell Phone Mod first appeared on Gajitz.