Francis Richard Stephenson

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F. Richard Stephenson (born April 26, 1941 ) is a British geophysicist and astronomer .

Work areas

Until his retirement in 2004, Stephenson held a professorship at the Department of Physics at Durham University . His research focuses on aspects of applied historical astronomy, in particular the evaluation of ancient astronomical observations as a contribution to current astronomical and geophysical issues. These include, for example, the long-term fluctuations in the Earth's rotation , historical supernovae , changes in the course of Halley's comet and historical fluctuations in solar activity . This was accompanied by studies on the history of East Asian star maps and the accuracy of pre-telescopic astronomical observations.

In 2003 he was elected a member of the Academia Europaea . In 2004 the asteroid (10979) Fristephenson was named after him.

Books

  • Stephenson FR: Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation . Cambridge University Press 1997, ISBN 0-521-46194-4 .
  • Stephenson FR, Green DA: Historical Supernovae and their Remnants . Oxford University Press 2002, ISBN 978-0-19-850766-6

Publications (selection)

  • Stephenson FR, Morrison, LV: Long-term changes in the rotation of the earth - 700 BC to AD 1980 .
    Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series A, vol. 313: 47-70 (1984).
  • Stephenson, FR: Historical Evidence concerning the Sun: Interpretation of Sunspot Records during the Telescopic and Pretelescopic Eras .
    Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series A, vol. 330, issue 1615 (1990), pp. 499-512.
  • Stephenson FR, Morrison, LV: Long-Term Fluctuations in the Earth's Rotation: 700 BC to AD 1990 .
    Philosophical Transactions: Physical Sciences and Engineering, vol. 351, issue 1695 (1995), pp. 165-202.
  • Stephenson, FR, Green, DA: A reappraisal of some proposed historical supernovae .
    Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol. 36, part 2, no. 123 (2005), pp. 217-229. ( online )
  • Stephenson, FR, Green, DA: A Catalog of "Guest Stars" Recorded in East Asian History from Earliest Times to AD 1600 .
    Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol. 40 (2009), pp. 31-54

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b 'Francis R. Stephenson' ( online , accessed May 30, 2011)
  2. ^ F. Stephenson: Summary of Previous and Current Research ( online , accessed May 30, 2011)
  3. ↑ Directory of members: Francis R. Stephenson. Academia Europaea, accessed January 9, 2018 .
  4. ↑ MPC 53174, November 26, 2004 ( online ; PDF file; 1.13 MB)
personal data
SURNAME Stephenson, Francis Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stephenson, F. Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British geophysicist and astronomer
DATE OF BIRTH April 26, 1941