The 2017 solar eclipse was the event of the year as people all over the world stopped what they were doing, went outside and stared at the sky.

It was almost as if the world hit pause to appreciate the spectacle.

Now experts at the British Film Institute (BFI) think they have another excuse for the world to pause once again.

It’s the earliest known footage of a solar eclipse.

The video at the top of the page is a frame-by-frame look at the solar eclipse from the year 1900.

The original film fragments were held in the The Royal Astronomical Society’s archive. Experts at the BFI National Archive spent countless hours carefully scanning and restoring the footage into 4K resolution.

The film was reassembled and retimed frame by frame.

British magician turned pioneering filmmaker Nevil Maskelyne was the man behind the restoration of this groundbreaking footage, which was shot in North Carolina on May 28, 1900.

“It’s wonderful to see events from our scientific past brought back to life,” professor Mike Cruise, president of the Royal Astronomical Society, told BFI. “Astronomers are always keen to embrace new technology, and our forerunners a century ago were no exception. These scenes of a total solar eclipse — one of the most spectacular sights in astronomy — are a captivating glimpse of Victorian science in action.”

It’s surprising that footage from more than 100 years ago can be so captivating, but it just proves that solar eclipses are a timeless wonder.

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See the earliest known footage of a solar eclipse

Film experts have scanned and restored the earliest footage of a solar eclipse, a video taken in 1900 in North Carolina.