| RefNo | EC/1953/25 |
| Previous numbers | Cert XVI, 85; A55662 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Woolley, Sir Richard van der Riet: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Citation | He has made important observational and theoretical contributions to astrophysics. His theoretical work includes a study on the effect of cyclical Transitions in which he was the first to show that the large observed values of the central intensities of the Hydrogen Balmer lines in the solar spectrum could be explained in this way. His researches include studies of line interlocking, of the continuous, absorption co-efficient, of the Chromosphere and corona, and of the mechanisms of ionospheric ionisation. On the observational side he is responsible for a series of measures of the intensities of Fraunhofer lines; he was one of the pioneers in the quantitative spectrophotometric of the intensities of solar prominences; he has contributed to double star astronomy; and in recent years photometric and spectrophotometric problems have been attacked and new techniques developed by himself and by the team he leads. These problems include the measurement of the sun's apparent magnitude leading to an evaluation of its absolute magnitude which is a fundamental astrophysical constant. The striking growth of Australian astrophysics in the last decade is mainly due to his leadership. He is Vice-President of the International Astronomical Union. |
| Proposers | From personal knowledge. W M H Greaves; H Spencer Jones; F J M Stratton; R O Redman; J Jackson; C R Burch; W H McCrea; E C Bullard. |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| Image | 
|
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA8033 | Woolley; Sir; Richard van der Riet (1906 - 1986) | 1906 - 1986 |