Étienne Léopold Trouvelot
Étienne Léopold Trouvelot was a French artist, astronomer, and amateur entomologist. During his early years, he was apparently involved in politics and had Republican leanings. Following a coup by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon III) in 1851, he fled with his family to the United States. They settled in Medford, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. At the beginning, he was mostly interested in ... moths! He is noted for importing and accidentally releasing the spongy moth into North America. The spread of the moths as an invasive species has destroyed millions of hardwood trees throughout the eastern United States, and is a huge problem until this day.
After this accident, he became interested in astronomy in 1870 when he witnessed several auroras, including today's. He started to create illustrations, and when Joseph Winlock, the director of Harvard College Observatory, saw the quality of his illustrations, he invited Trouvelot to join the staff there in 1872. In 1875, he was invited to the U. S. Naval Observatory to use the 26-inch refractor for a year. During his life, he produced about 7,000 quality astronomical illustrations. He was particularly interested in the Sun and discovered "veiled spots" in 1875.
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P.P.S. If you like this print, we encourage you to explore more astronomical art of Trouvelot! And here's another beautiful (and huge!) painting depicting the phenomenon of northern lights by Frederic Edwin Church.