The Clock in the Sun

Francis Halzen, Vilas Research Professor and Gregory Breit Professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison:
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.

Peter L. Biermann, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy:
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.