Stuart Clark

The Sun Kings

A large solar storm can cause quite a lot of trouble on Earth in the form of power cuts, communication failures and the like. This link between solar activity and happenings on Earth isn't obvious though. In The sun kings : the unexpected tragedy of Richard Carrington and the tale of how modern astronomy began, Stuart Clark tells the story of how the link came to be recognised.

William Herschel was a keen observer of the sun and found a correlation between large numbers of sunspots and high wheat prices, suggesting that sunspots could influence Earth's climate - but this just resulted in ridicule. His son John became involved in another important piece of the puzzle, the measurement of the Earth's magnetic field. As the title suggests, much of the book looks at the work of Richard Carrington, who did regular solar observation, and in September 1859 saw a large solar flare coming from within a sunspot. Despite the fact there was disruption to telegraph communication and huge aurorae at the same time, many people still dismissed the connection as fanciful. Clark goes on to describe the work of E W Maunder, how the effects of solar activity eventually came to be accepted, and how there might indeed be something in Herschel's correlation of wheat prices and sunspots - with an unexpected link to cosmic rays.

The book also describes the politics behind the astronomy, illustrating the transition from the grand amateur to the professional astronomer. It's a well written book and doesn't require any previous knowledge of the subject. I found it to be a highly enjoyable read.

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Hardcover 224 pages
ISBN: 0691126607
Salesrank: 354576
Weight:1.05 lbs

Published: 2007 Princeton University Press

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Hardcover 224 pages
ISBN: 0691126607
Salesrank: 111864
Weight:1.05 lbs

Published: 2007 Princeton University Press

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Hardcover 224 pages
ISBN: 0691126607
Salesrank: 199610
Weight:1.05 lbs

Published: 2007 Princeton University Press

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Product Description
In September of 1859, the entire Earth was engulfed in a gigantic cloud of seething gas, and a blood-red aurora erupted across the planet from the poles to the tropics. Around the world, telegraph systems crashed, machines burst into flames, and electric shocks rendered operators unconscious. Compasses and other sensitive instruments reeled as if struck by a massive magnetic fist. For the first time, people began to suspect that the Earth was not isolated from the rest of the universe. However, nobody knew what could have released such strange forces upon the Earth--nobody, that is, except the amateur English astronomer Richard Carrington. In this riveting account, Stuart Clark tells for the first time the full story behind Carrington's observations of a mysterious explosion on the surface of the Sun and how his brilliant insight--that the Sun's magnetism directly influences the Earth--helped to usher in the modern era of astronomy. Clark vividly brings to life the scientists who roundly rejected the significance of Carrington's discovery of solar flares, as well as those who took up his struggle to prove the notion that the Earth could be touched by influences from space. Clark also reveals new details about the sordid scandal that destroyed Carrington's reputation and led him from the highest echelons of science to the very lowest reaches of love, villainy, and revenge. The Sun Kings transports us back to Victorian England, into the very heart of the great nineteenth-century scientific controversy about the Sun's hidden influence over our planet.

Product Description

In September of 1859, the entire Earth was engulfed in a gigantic cloud of seething gas, and a blood-red aurora erupted across the planet from the poles to the tropics. Around the world, telegraph systems crashed, machines burst into flames, and electric shocks rendered operators unconscious. Compasses and other sensitive instruments reeled as if struck by a massive magnetic fist. For the first time, people began to suspect that the Earth was not isolated from the rest of the universe. However, nobody knew what could have released such strange forces upon the Earth--nobody, that is, except the amateur English astronomer Richard Carrington.

In this riveting account, Stuart Clark tells for the first time the full story behind Carrington's observations of a mysterious explosion on the surface of the Sun and how his brilliant insight--that the Sun's magnetism directly influences the Earth--helped to usher in the modern era of astronomy. Clark vividly brings to life the scientists who roundly rejected the significance of Carrington's discovery of solar flares, as well as those who took up his struggle to prove the notion that the Earth could be touched by influences from space. Clark also reveals new details about the sordid scandal that destroyed Carrington's reputation and led him from the highest echelons of science to the very lowest reaches of love, villainy, and revenge.

The Sun Kings transports us back to Victorian England, into the very heart of the great nineteenth-century scientific controversy about the Sun's hidden influence over our planet.

An Good Introduction to the History of Solar Astrophysics ****
In his book, The Sun Kings, author Stuart Clark introduces the reader to both the early history of solar astronomy and astrophysics and the reasons why such studies are important today. Clark begins by telling of the events near September 1st, 1859 in which the Earth was bombarded by a huge solar storm. While the effects of this storm were readily observed around the planet, only one person seems to have witnessed the cause, a huge solar flare on the Sun's surface. This man, Richard Carrington, forms the the central figure of Clark's narrative but he is not the only scientist who contributes to the story. Along the way we meet William Herschel and his son John, Warren de la Rue, George Airy, George Ellery Hale and a number of other figures whose work will gradually shed light on (pun intended) the murky physical connections between our world and the star it circles. As is often the case in biographical sketches of a scientist's work, the story begins before Carrington's contributions and continues after he meets his tragic end in what be seen as a mid-life crisis gone horribly wrong. In this sense, while Carrington may seem like the subject of the book, the bigger theme is how humans came to understand anything at all about an object that could not be touched, sampled or controlled. In presenting this, Stuart does a good job of describing the science and the culture in which it took place without getting bogged down in the technicalities of the work. By presenting the material first with a pair of near catastrophic events, the author engages the reader and then holds on by revealing the events and personalities that shaped the work done. Gone is the sort of inevitable march towards knowledge approach that many simple treatments of scientific topics use. This is replaced by a better tale of false starts, professional (and sometimes personal) disputes and rivalries along with the triumphs and collaborations that are part and parcel of scientific inquiry. The only quibble I have is that Carrington's personal story is left a bit undeveloped as compared to the larger scientific theme. I would have liked a bit more discussion of the tradition of the British "Gentleman Scientist" and certainly a deeper analysis of Carrington himself as well as some of his actions. Much of this may be lacking due to a dearth of sources available to the author however and I certainly can not find fault with showing restraint and speculating if that is the case. This is a relatively minor quibble. A bit more serious is the lack of a good explanation of why the Sun has a magnetic field and why is acts in the way it does. It seems that if the author can find a way to simply explain differential rotation as he does, more effort could be put into discussing a bit more of the physics behind the observed phenomena. I strongly recommend this book to anyone seeking a better understanding of the Sun, the history and culture of science or the process of scientific inquiry. Those wanting to know more about how the Sun works might be well served by checking out an astronomy textbook from their local library to supplement the material included here.

An Good Introduction to the History of Solar Astrophysics ****

In his book, The Sun Kings, author Stuart Clark introduces the reader to both the early history of solar astronomy and astrophysics and the reasons why such studies are important today. Clark begins by telling of the events near September 1st, 1859 in which the Earth was bombarded by a huge solar storm. While the effects of this storm were readily observed around the planet, only one person seems to have witnessed the cause, a huge solar flare on the Sun's surface. This man, Richard Carrington, forms the the central figure of Clark's narrative but he is not the only scientist who contributes to the story. Along the way we meet William Herschel and his son John, Warren de la Rue, George Airy, George Ellery Hale and a number of other figures whose work will gradually shed light on (pun intended) the murky physical connections between our world and the star it circles.

As is often the case in biographical sketches of a scientist's work, the story begins before Carrington's contributions and continues after he meets his tragic end in what be seen as a mid-life crisis gone horribly wrong. In this sense, while Carrington may seem like the subject of the book, the bigger theme is how humans came to understand anything at all about an object that could not be touched, sampled or controlled. In presenting this, Stuart does a good job of describing the science and the culture in which it took place without getting bogged down in the technicalities of the work. By presenting the material first with a pair of near catastrophic events, the author engages the reader and then holds on by revealing the events and personalities that shaped the work done. Gone is the sort of inevitable march towards knowledge approach that many simple treatments of scientific topics use. This is replaced by a better tale of false starts, professional (and sometimes personal) disputes and rivalries along with the triumphs and collaborations that are part and parcel of scientific inquiry.

The only quibble I have is that Carrington's personal story is left a bit undeveloped as compared to the larger scientific theme. I would have liked a bit more discussion of the tradition of the British "Gentleman Scientist" and certainly a deeper analysis of Carrington himself as well as some of his actions. Much of this may be lacking due to a dearth of sources available to the author however and I certainly can not find fault with showing restraint and speculating if that is the case. This is a relatively minor quibble. A bit more serious is the lack of a good explanation of why the Sun has a magnetic field and why is acts in the way it does. It seems that if the author can find a way to simply explain differential rotation as he does, more effort could be put into discussing a bit more of the physics behind the observed phenomena.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone seeking a better understanding of the Sun, the history and culture of science or the process of scientific inquiry. Those wanting to know more about how the Sun works might be well served by checking out an astronomy textbook from their local library to supplement the material included here.

A Rare Combination *****
It isn't often one finds a book offering readable science along with fascinating portraits of scientists. THE SUN KINGS is an exception that does a truly commendable job of exploring the explosive nature of 19th Century astronomy and the idiosyncrasies of its practitioners. Reginald Carrington's meticulous solar observations and his discovery of solar flares and their effect on the earth are the book's major theme. But there is much more in it about the astronomical greats of that age. The Herschels (father and son), Humboldt, Hale, as well as others whose names have survived attached to various phenomena such as Bode's law, Fraunhofer lines, and the Maunder Minimum figure prominently in these pages. Clark has also sprinkled the tale with intriguing anecdotes--the meteorologist who fired dead chickens from a cannon to test the often-repeated story that tornados had stripped chickens of their feathers, the telegrapher who turned off his batteries during an aurora borealis and powered his line with the magnetic field created during the display, and the first improvised solar cooker, used to fry an egg. The 1860 total eclipse expedition with its first photograph of the event is alone worth the price of the book. Add to that the depiction of the savage infighting among the scientists of that day and the difficulties faced by amateurs and women as they were grudgingly allowed into the sacred circle of academic astronomers--these make current fracases in that field seem minor by comparison. From it all, however, emerged what seems to be a truism today, but a truly major scientific discovery--the relationship of the sun's pulsing heartbeat to events here on earth, springing in large measure from Carrington's observation of a magnificent solar flare.

A Rare Combination *****

It isn't often one finds a book offering readable science along with fascinating portraits of scientists. THE SUN KINGS is an exception that does a truly commendable job of exploring the explosive nature of 19th Century astronomy and the idiosyncrasies of its practitioners. Reginald Carrington's meticulous solar observations and his discovery of solar flares and their effect on the earth are the book's major theme. But there is much more in it about the astronomical greats of that age. The Herschels (father and son), Humboldt, Hale, as well as others whose names have survived attached to various phenomena such as Bode's law, Fraunhofer lines, and the Maunder Minimum figure prominently in these pages. Clark has also sprinkled the tale with intriguing anecdotes--the meteorologist who fired dead chickens from a cannon to test the often-repeated story that tornados had stripped chickens of their feathers, the telegrapher who turned off his batteries during an aurora borealis and powered his line with the magnetic field created during the display, and the first improvised solar cooker, used to fry an egg. The 1860 total eclipse expedition with its first photograph of the event is alone worth the price of the book. Add to that the depiction of the savage infighting among the scientists of that day and the difficulties faced by amateurs and women as they were grudgingly allowed into the sacred circle of academic astronomers--these make current fracases in that field seem minor by comparison. From it all, however, emerged what seems to be a truism today, but a truly major scientific discovery--the relationship of the sun's pulsing heartbeat to events here on earth, springing in large measure from Carrington's observation of a magnificent solar flare.

A Superb History of Observational Solar Astrophysics *****
Although this excellent book's subtitle mentions "modern astronomy", the book is really about the sun and how certain key individuals, the "sun kings", have made important discoveries towards our better understanding of some aspects of our nearest star and how the earth can be directly affected. In particular, the role that sunspots and solar flares play in producing auroras and magnetic storms on earth is historically explored. The author weaves his remarkable tale from the mid-nineteenth to the early twenty first century. Everything is brought together in the last couple of chapters in which our current understanding of solar astrophysics is presented. Also discussed is modern research on the observed relationship between the number of sunspots and the earth's climate - another possible contributing factor to climate change. The writing style is clear, very engaging and quite friendly; this book is very difficult to put down, in part because the author skillfully includes details of individuals' personal lives intermingled with the science that they were pursuing. The book can be enjoyed by everyone since the author was very careful in avoiding scientific jargon and in meticulously explaining scientific matters. I definitely look forward to reading more of this author's books.

A Superb History of Observational Solar Astrophysics *****

Although this excellent book's subtitle mentions "modern astronomy", the book is really about the sun and how certain key individuals, the "sun kings", have made important discoveries towards our better understanding of some aspects of our nearest star and how the earth can be directly affected. In particular, the role that sunspots and solar flares play in producing auroras and magnetic storms on earth is historically explored. The author weaves his remarkable tale from the mid-nineteenth to the early twenty first century. Everything is brought together in the last couple of chapters in which our current understanding of solar astrophysics is presented. Also discussed is modern research on the observed relationship between the number of sunspots and the earth's climate - another possible contributing factor to climate change. The writing style is clear, very engaging and quite friendly; this book is very difficult to put down, in part because the author skillfully includes details of individuals' personal lives intermingled with the science that they were pursuing. The book can be enjoyed by everyone since the author was very careful in avoiding scientific jargon and in meticulously explaining scientific matters. I definitely look forward to reading more of this author's books.

A Great Historical Education *****
This book is real history. It is well written, covers the important points of the history being written about, and is very informative. Clark has written a history of the discovery of the nature of the sun, and of how its magnetic field effects the earth. Clark does a very thorough job describing the lead researchers and how they operated. The basic science is discussed very clearly. I learned a lot. This book is highly recommended for anyone even remotely interested in history.

A Great Historical Education *****

This book is real history. It is well written, covers the important points of the history being written about, and is very informative. Clark has written a history of the discovery of the nature of the sun, and of how its magnetic field effects the earth. Clark does a very thorough job describing the lead researchers and how they operated. The basic science is discussed very clearly. I learned a lot.

This book is highly recommended for anyone even remotely interested in history.

Brilliant Book *****
I read this book after hearing Seth Shostak's great interview with Stuart Clark on the SETI podcast. It is a fabulous tale of astronomy in Victorian times, complete with tragic motifs and quirky insights into what amateur astronomers and gentleman scientists thought about the Sun in those times. Great book.

Brilliant Book *****

I read this book after hearing Seth Shostak's great interview with Stuart Clark on the SETI podcast. It is a fabulous tale of astronomy in Victorian times, complete with tragic motifs and quirky insights into what amateur astronomers and gentleman scientists thought about the Sun in those times. Great book.

Popular science at its best *****
This book kept me captivated and was a delight to read. Not only has it been carefully researched from the scientific point of view, but it has lots of fascinating personal details of the lives of those who struggled to show that the Sun has a great deal of influence on the Earth's climate and human affairs.

Popular science at its best *****

This book kept me captivated and was a delight to read. Not only has it been carefully researched from the scientific point of view, but it has lots of fascinating personal details of the lives of those who struggled to show that the Sun has a great deal of influence on the Earth's climate and human affairs.

Tragic Tale, Great Book... *****
I have to confess that despite a long interest in Astronomy, Richard Carrington was unknown to me. Stuart Clark redresses this and tells Richard Carrington's tragic tale (and it really is tragic) with consummate skill and ease. I will leave future readers to discover the tragedy, but Richard Carrington observed an enormous solar flare in 1859, one that would appear to be the largest ever recorded, and its subsequent aurora on Earth. The connection between the two was unknown at the time and now it seems surprising that so many eminent scientists were ready to dismiss the link. Interwoven with Richard Carrington's tale, the author relates the work of many other scientists that have contributed to our understanding of the Sun. Jealously, love, money and animosity all enter into this tale. Some scientists now believe that the Sun directly affects global warming and global cooling, regardless, or in addition to, the Earth's atmosphere and greenhouse gases within it. A final interesting chapter of the book examines how past observations may support that theory. The prices of wheat have never seemed so relevant before! So many popular science books fail to live up to my expectations, but I can assure you that this is a very well written book and a very satisfying read. Sir Patrick Moore reviewed this book and concluded that it is an essential purchase for your library. And let's face it, he can't be wrong!

Tragic Tale, Great Book... *****

I have to confess that despite a long interest in Astronomy, Richard Carrington was unknown to me. Stuart Clark redresses this and tells Richard Carrington's tragic tale (and it really is tragic) with consummate skill and ease. I will leave future readers to discover the tragedy, but Richard Carrington observed an enormous solar flare in 1859, one that would appear to be the largest ever recorded, and its subsequent aurora on Earth. The connection between the two was unknown at the time and now it seems surprising that so many eminent scientists were ready to dismiss the link. Interwoven with Richard Carrington's tale, the author relates the work of many other scientists that have contributed to our understanding of the Sun. Jealously, love, money and animosity all enter into this tale.

Some scientists now believe that the Sun directly affects global warming and global cooling, regardless, or in addition to, the Earth's atmosphere and greenhouse gases within it. A final interesting chapter of the book examines how past observations may support that theory. The prices of wheat have never seemed so relevant before!

So many popular science books fail to live up to my expectations, but I can assure you that this is a very well written book and a very satisfying read. Sir Patrick Moore reviewed this book and concluded that it is an essential purchase for your library. And let's face it, he can't be wrong!

Dawn of astrophysics ****
This is an excellent account about how the study of our daytime star ushered in the new science of astrophysics. This book is popular science writing at its best. The science concerns the recognition that the Sun exerts a serious hold over the Earth: solar flares and solar magnetism have direct effects, such as the phenomenon of the aurora. This account scores with its detail in terms of the people who made it all happen: tragic Richard Carrington, William Herschel, Warren de la Rue ,and Walter Maunder. If you like reading about the history of astronomy,you will find this account deeply rewarding.

Dawn of astrophysics ****

This is an excellent account about how the study of our daytime star ushered in the new science of astrophysics. This book is popular science writing at its best. The science concerns the recognition that the Sun exerts a serious hold over the Earth: solar flares and solar magnetism have direct effects, such as the phenomenon of the aurora. This account scores with its detail in terms of the people who made it all happen: tragic Richard Carrington, William Herschel, Warren de la Rue ,and Walter Maunder. If you like reading about the history of astronomy,you will find this account deeply rewarding.