Richard Robinson Lecture 1998

Astronomer Royal for Scotland, Professor John Brown, honoured for his fundamental contributions to the study of the Sun and stars.

Armagh Observatory, 12 October 1998

Professor J C Brown, Regius Chair of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow and Astronomer Royal for Scotland, will deliver the fourth Robinson Lecture, named in memory of the founder of Armagh Observatory, Archbishop Richard Robinson, on Thursday, 19 November 1998 at 7.30pm in the Navan Centre, Killylea Road, Armagh. Professor Brown's lecture is entitled "Life in a Stormy Universe." At a special ceremony prior to the lecture, Lord Archbishop Eames, Chairman of the Board of Governors of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, will present Professor Brown with the Robinson Medal to mark his outstanding investigations into a wide variety of astronomical topics. These include interpreting the properties of radiation from the Sun, motions within sunspots, how hot stars shed some of their mass, and the powering of spacecraft by solar radiation.

The Robinson Medal is a silver replica of the original bronze medallion struck by Mossop of Dublin in 1789 to mark the commencement of the construction of the Observatory, and is awarded from time to time to an eminent scientist. The obverse side depicts a portrait of Primate Robinson, while the reverse side features the Observatory motto "The Heavens Declare the Glory of God" surrounding the south elevation of the Observatory.

Professor Brown has served with distinction on many national committees including the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council, the Royal Astronomical Society, and the Institute of Physics. He is the author of some 200 books and articles on the physics of the Sun and stars, and collaborates with many research groups around the world as well as utilizing observations made by spacecraft.

Entrance to the lecture is free by ticket only, available from Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG. Tel.: 01861-522928.

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