The Sun Kings: the Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Tale of How Modern Astronomy Began.

THE SUN KINGS: The Unexpected Tragedy of Richard Carrington and the Tale of HOW Modern Astronomy Began STUART CLARK 

In 2003, Earth was hit with a barrage of particles of supercharged radiation from a series of massive solar flares, and some radio communications were knocked out. Some 150 years earlier, observers watched with awe and horror as a massive aurora of strange lights spanned the globe. At that time, the only scientist who could cOrrectly explain what was happening was a young astronomer named Richard Carrington. He was the first to suggest that the strange lights were connected to activity on the surface of the sun. Clark, author and former editor of Astronomy Now, tells the story of Carrington's discovery, how some of his contemporaries were loath to believe him, and how others rallied behind his hypothesis. Until that point, the sun wasn't known to have a connection to climate change and magnetic events. From this starting point, Clark summarizes the struggles of these early astronomical visionaries and relates their work to that done by modern-day scientists. Princeton, 2007, 211 p., b&w images, hardcover, $24.95.