The Clock in the Sun

Name: The Clock in the Sun
Price: 42.95 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9780231224178

How We Came to Understand Our Nearest Star

Pierre Sokolsky

$42.95

Paperback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Columbia University Press
02 June 2026

Mathematics & Sciences; History of science; Galaxies & stars; Space science

Winner, 2025 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

On the surface of the Sun, spots appear and fade in a predictable cycle, like a great clock in the sky. In medieval Russia, China, and Korea, monks and court astronomers recorded the appearance of these dark shapes, interpreting them as omens of things to come. In Western Europe, by contrast, where a cosmology originating with Aristotle prevailed, the Sun was regarded as part of the unchanging celestial realm, and it took observations through telescopes by Galileo and others to establish the reality of solar imperfections. In the nineteenth century, amateur astronomers discovered that sunspots ebb and flow about every eleven years-spurring speculation about their influence on the weather and even the stock market.

Exploring these and many other crucial developments, Pierre Sokolsky provides a history of knowledge of the Sun through the lens of sunspots and the solar cycle. He ranges widely across cultures and throughout history, from the earliest recorded observations of sunspots in Chinese annals to satellites orbiting the Sun today, and from worship of the Sun as a deity in ancient times to present-day scientific understandings of stars and their magnetic fields. Considering how various thinkers sought to solve the puzzle of sunspots, Sokolsky sheds new light on key discoveries and the people who made them, as well as their historical and cultural contexts. Fast-paced, comprehensive, and learned, The Clock in the Sun shows readers our closest star from many new angles.

By: Pierre Sokolsky
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 140mm,
ISBN: 9780231224178
ISBN 10: 0231224176
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 02 June 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Preface Introduction 1. Sunspots as Omens: Russian and Chinese Observations 2. The Roots of Western Cosmology: Mesopotamia, Greece, and Islam 3. Medieval Europe and the Islamic Empire: Where Have All the Sunspots Gone? 4. The Invention of the Telescope: Sunspots as Heresy 5. After Galileo: Sunspots as Windows Into the Sun and Omens of Weather 6. Discovery of the Solar Cycle: Sunspots as Clocks 7. The Business Cycle: Sunspots as Economic Indicator 8. Solar Spectroscopy: Sunspots as Magnetometers 9. The Sun and the Weather: Sunspots as Meteorological Omens 10. Twentieth-Century Business Cycle ⇔ Solar Cycle Theories 11. Sunspots, the Solar Wind, and the Sun-Earth Connection 12. The Sun’s Energy Source: Solar Oscillations and Neutrinos 13. Sunspots Today: Current Theories of the Solar Cycle and the Sun-Earth Connection Appendix A. Electric and Magnetic Fields Appendix B. Atoms and Their Spectra Notes Additional Reading Index

Pierre Sokolsky is an experimental particle astrophysicist. He is distinguished professor of physics and astronomy emeritus at the University of Utah, where he was also dean of the College of Science. Sokolsky is a fellow of the American Physical Society, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, and a recipient of the American Physical Society’s W. K. H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics. He is a recipient of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics Yodh Prize, which celebrates those who have made important contributions to the field of cosmic rays and astroparticle physics throughout their career.

Reviews for The Clock in the Sun: How We Came to Understand Our Nearest Star

The Clock in the Sun is a one-of-a-kind history of our understanding of the Sun—and how it has often defied authorities' predictions. Sokolsky beautifully traces this story over nearly a thousand years and across the world, ranging from observations of sunspots through clouds and colorful wisps during solar eclipses to the Nobel Prize-winning research that has led us to believe we finally grasp how the Sun functions. -- Peter L. Biermann, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy Pierre Sokolsky, a pioneer in observing cosmic rays by the streak of fluorescence they leave in the atmosphere, is fascinated with sunspots. In The Clock in the Sun, he takes us on a grand tour covering the history of astronomy and the physics of the sun, with sunspots as a central theme. The result is a book suitable for general readers, and for specialists, a weekend of fascinating reading. -- Francis Halzen, Vilas Research Professor and Gregory Breit Professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison The Clock in the Sun rekindles in me a spark of what my ancestors must have felt when they worshiped the Sun. Sokolsky methodically reconstructs the mystery and history of sunspots and reignites curiosity for our phenomenal solar timekeeper. -- Jamie Zvirzdin, author of <i>Subatomic Writing: Six Fundamental Lessons to Make Language Matter</i> The Clock in the Sun catches the pulse of our favorite star as well as that of our intellectual history with it. Interested readers of all levels will have something to learn and enjoy. * Open Letters Review * Offers fascinating reading. [The Clock in the Sun] brings readers up to date on the current solar model, while informing them of the rich history of solar astronomy. * Mark Lardas, Ricochet * Provides a unique look at world history as seen through the lens of solar astronomy. Mr. Sokolsky does a splendid job. * The Wall Street Journal * The Clock in the Sun is a fascinating account of humanity's relationship with the sun. Sokolsky weaves a compelling yarn that spans over 1,000 years of astronomical history, from humanity’s worship of the sun in ancient times to the constellation of spacecraft that monitor it 24/7 today. Rich in both history and science, this is an engaging, thought-provoking read. Highly recommended. * T.D. Oswalt, Choice Reviews * Sokolsky provides a comprehensive history of the science of the sun from antiquity to the present. In the process, he offers portraits of the people responsible for these discoveries and illuminates the ways in which ideas travel and evolve between cultures and across time. * University of Chicago Magazine *