Richard Christopher Carrington

Richard Christopher Carrington

Infobox Scientist
name = Richard Christopher Carrington
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image_width = 150px
caption = Richard Christopher Carrington
birth_date = May 26 1826
birth_place = Chelsea, London, England
death_date = November 27 1875
death_place = Churt, England
residence =
citizenship =
nationality = English
ethnicity =
field = Astronomy
work_institutions =
alma_mater =
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for = Solar observations
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influences =
influenced =
prizes = Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1859
religion =
footnotes =

Richard Christopher Carrington (May 26 1826 – November 27 1875) was an English amateur astronomer who discovered the differential rotation of the sun by means of sunspot observations in 1863.

Life and work

In 1859, Carrington and Richard Hodgson, another English amateur astronomer, independently made the first observations of a solar flare. Because of a simultaneous "crochet" observed in the Kew Observatory magnetometer record by Balfour Stewart and a geomagnetic storm observed the following day, Carrington suspected a solar-terrestrial connection. World wide reports on the effects of the geomagnetic storm of 1859 were compiled and published by Elias Loomis which support the observations of Carrington and Balfour Stewart.

Even though he did not discover the 11-year sunspot activity cycle, his observations of sunspot activity after he heard about Heinrich Schwabe's work led to the numbering of the cycles with Carrington's name. For example, the sunspot maximum of 2002 was Carrington Cycle #23.

Carrington also determined the elements of the rotation axis of the Sun, based on sunspot motions, and his results remain in use today. Carrington rotation is a system for measuring solar longitude based on his observations of the low-latitude solar rotation rate.

Carrington made the initial observations leading to the establishment of Spörer's law.

He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1859.

No pictures of Carrington are known at present.

Selected writings

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* "Catalogue of 3735 Circumpolar Stars" (1857)

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* "Observations of the Spots on the Sun from 1853 to 1861" (1863)

Further reading

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* - an obituary

External links

* [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article2731374.ece "Carrington's star billing"] : an article in [http://www.the-tls.co.uk The Times Literary Supplement] by John North, October 24 2007
* [http://www.hao.ucar.edu/Public/education/bios/carrington.html Biography at High Altitude Observatory]
* [http://www.solarstorms.org/SCarrington.html Extensive history and timeline about Carrington by Astronomer Sten Odenwald]
* [http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/06may_carringtonflare.htm? NASA - Carrington Super Flare] NASA May 6 2008


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  • Richard Christopher Carrington — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Richard Christopher Carrington (26 de mayo de 1826 – 27 de noviembre de 1875) fue un astrónomo aficionado inglés que descubrió la rotación diferencial del Sol mediante observaciones de las manchas solares en 1863. En …   Wikipedia Español

  • Richard Christopher Carrington — (* 26. Mai 1826 in Chelsea; † 27. November 1875 in Redhill, England) war ein englischer Astronom. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben und Karriere 2 Auszeichnungen 3 Werke …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Richard Christopher Carrington — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Carrington (homonymie). Richard Christopher Carrington (26 mai 1826 27 novembre 1875) est un astronome anglais qui a découvert en 1863 la rotation différentielle du Soleil en observant les taches solaires. Ses… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Carrington, Richard Christopher — ▪ British astronomer born May 26, 1826, London, Eng. died Nov. 27, 1875, Churt, near Farnham, Surrey       English astronomer who, by observing the motions of sunspots (sunspot), discovered the equatorial acceleration of the Sun; i.e., that it… …   Universalium

  • Richard Carrington — Richard Christopher Carrington Richard Christopher Carrington (26 mai 1826 27 novembre 1875) est un astronome anglais qui a découvert en 1863 la rotation différentielle du Soleil en observant les taches solaires. Ses observations ont permis à l… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Carrington — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Andrew Carrington (* 1977), australischer Sänger Ashley Carrington (* 1951), Pseudonym des deutschen Schriftstellers Rainer Maria Schröder Dora Carrington (1893–1932), englische Malerin Edwin W. Carrington …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Carrington (Homonymie) — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Patronyme Richard Christopher Carrington est un astronome anglais. Dora Carrington est une peintre anglaise, amie de Lytton Strachey. Leonora Carrington… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Carrington — and Carington are surnames shared by several notable people, including those listed below. The use of the one r Carington surname appears to be restricted to the British peerage Baron of Carrington created for Robert Smith in 1796.… …   Wikipedia

  • Carrington (homonymie) — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Patronyme Richard Christopher Carrington est un astronome anglais. Dora Carrington est une peintre anglaise, amie de Lytton Strachey. Leonora… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Carrington rotation — The Carrington rotation of the Sun is a system for comparing locations on the Sun over a period of time, allowing the following of sunspot groups or reappearance of eruptions at a later time.Because the Solar rotation is variable with latitude,… …   Wikipedia

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