The Enigma of Sunspots: A Story of Discovery and Scientific Revolution

Brody, Judit

ISBN 10: 0863153704 / ISBN 13: 9780863153709

Edité par Floris Books, 2003

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Synopsis :

Sunspots are dark areas of irregular shape on the Sun's surface, some as large as 50,000 miles (80,000 km) in diameter. They move across the surface, contracting and expanding as they go, and are often big enough to be seen with the naked eye. Given their elusive cyclical nature, and the fact that it is both painful and dangerous to observe the Sun directly, it is little wonder that records of sunspots are almost non-existent in Europe before the seventeenth century. Mentions of sunspots were ignored by early astronomers and philosophers, who followed Aristotle in believing that the heavens were perfect. Judit Brody charts the fascinating history of our efforts to understand sunspots, and the lives and quarrels of those dedicated astronomers who first charted their mysterious patterns and whose records are still of vital importance. Today solar emissions are thought to coincide with major effects in global weather patterns, and a deeper scientific understanding of the Sun's nature and behaviour, using modern telescopes and other instruments, has never been more important.

À propos de l'auteur: Judit Brody fled Hungary following the revolution of 1956. At first she was a mathematics and physics teacher, then in turn became a mother, a librarian, a historian of science and a grandmother. As a librarian she worked in the Science Museum in London, at Stanford University in California and in the College of Santa Fe in New Mexico. She has written many articles for scientific publications, including New Scientist.

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : The Enigma of Sunspots: A Story of Discovery...
Éditeur : Floris Books
Date d'édition : 2003
Reliure : paperback
Etat : Very Good