thumb|A diagram depicting Ibn al-Haytham's observations of light's behaviour through a pinhole Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039), an Arab physicist also known as Alhazen, described the camera obscura effect. Over the centuries others started to experiment with it, mainly in dark rooms with a small opening in shutters, mostly to study the nature of light and to safely watch solar eclipses.
thumb|A diagram depicting Ibn al-Haytham's observations of light's behaviour through a pinhole Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039), an Arab physicist also known as Alhazen, described the camera obscura effect. Over the centuries others started to experiment with it mainly in dark rooms with a small opening in shutters mostly to study the nature of light and to safely watch solar eclipses.