| Milk Drop Coronet | |
|---|---|
 Scan of a dye-transfer print at the MIT Museum | |
| Artist | Harold Edgerton |
| Completion date | January 10, 1957 |
| Medium | Kodak Panatomic X and Ektacolor |
| Subject | Drop of milk |
| Location | MIT Museum, Original negative destroyed; see Milk Drop Coronet § Physical copies for locations of copies |
Milk Drop Coronet is a high-speed photograph of a drop of milk falling onto the surface of a red pan, creating a splash resembling a coronet, taken by American scientist Harold "Doc" Edgerton on January 10, 1957. The picture was created using a camera connected to a beam of light, which triggered when the drop of milk obstructed the light.
Edgerton was an electrical engineer, and had personally developed a stroboscope which he used to take high-speed photographs of, among others, drops of liquid. He began capturing images of milk drops as early as 1932, and produced a similar picture to Milk Drop Coronet titled Milk Drop Coronet Splash in 1936.
Milk Drop Coronet has been called an "uncannily beautiful image" by New York Times art critic Ken Johnson, appeared in Time magazine's list of Most Influential Images of All Time, and exhibited in various art museums.