Axel Firsoff
Encyclopedia
Valdemar Axel Firsoff was known principally as an amateur astronomer
. He was born in ca. 1910 of Swedish descent, and died on 19 November 1981. He lived in Lochearnhead
, Scotland
, before moving to Somerset
, England
, where he settled in Glastonbury
.
Axel Firsoff held an MA degree in languages and worked as a Swedish translator and in the United Kingdom Patent Office
. He was a keen mountaineer
and skier, as some of his earlier books reveal, and he was a ski instructor for the British Olympic Ski Team in the 1950s. He developed an interest in science, in particular geology
and astronomy
and this led him to publish numerous books on the moon and inner planets.
Many of his books also touched on extraterrestrial life
and the nature of the mind
. In Life, Mind and Galaxies, he speculated that "mind seems to be an entity of the same order as energy and matter", an idea well before its time. In other aspects of his work, such as the nature of the lunar craters
, which he considered to be of volcanic rather than cosmological origin, he was later proved to be well wide of the mark.
on the planet
Mars
, is named in Firsoff's honor. Firsoff Crater is located at 2.63° North, 350.58° East.
Amateur astronomy
Amateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars...
. He was born in ca. 1910 of Swedish descent, and died on 19 November 1981. He lived in Lochearnhead
Lochearnhead
Lochearnhead is a village on the A84 Stirling to Crianlarich road at the foot of Glen Ogle, north of the Highland Boundary Fault...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, before moving to Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he settled in Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
.
Axel Firsoff held an MA degree in languages and worked as a Swedish translator and in the United Kingdom Patent Office
United Kingdom Patent Office
The Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom is, since 2 April 2007, the operating name of The Patent Office. It is the official government body responsible for intellectual property rights in the UK and is an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
. He was a keen mountaineer
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
and skier, as some of his earlier books reveal, and he was a ski instructor for the British Olympic Ski Team in the 1950s. He developed an interest in science, in particular geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
and this led him to publish numerous books on the moon and inner planets.
Many of his books also touched on extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
and the nature of the mind
Mind
The concept of mind is understood in many different ways by many different traditions, ranging from panpsychism and animism to traditional and organized religious views, as well as secular and materialist philosophies. Most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent...
. In Life, Mind and Galaxies, he speculated that "mind seems to be an entity of the same order as energy and matter", an idea well before its time. In other aspects of his work, such as the nature of the lunar craters
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
, which he considered to be of volcanic rather than cosmological origin, he was later proved to be well wide of the mark.
Honors
Firsoff crater, located in Meridiani PlanumMeridiani Planum
Meridiani Planum is a plain located 2 degrees south of Mars' equator , in the westernmost portion of Terra Meridiani. It hosts a rare occurrence of gray crystalline hematite...
on the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, is named in Firsoff's honor. Firsoff Crater is located at 2.63° North, 350.58° East.
Selected bibliography
- Ski Track on the Battlefield - 1942
- The Tatra Mountains - 1942
- The Unity of Europe - 1947
- The Cairngorms on Foot and Ski - 1949
- Arran With Camera and Sketchbook - 1951
- Our Neighbor World - 1953
- In the Hills of Breadalbane: Illustrated from the author's photos and drawings - 1954
- Moon Atlas - 1961
- The Surface of the Moon - 1961
- Strange World of the Moon - 1962
- The Crust Of The Earth - 1962
- Life Beyond the Earth: a study in exobiology - 1963
- Facing the Universe - 1966
- Life, Mind and Galaxies - 1967
- The Interior Planets - 1968
- The Old Moon and the New - 1969
- The World of Mars - 1969
- Gemstones of the British Isles - 1971
- Life among the Stars - 1974
- Working with Gemstones - 1974
- The Rockhound's Handbook - 1975
- The Solar Planets - 1977
- At the Crossroads of Knowledge - 1977
- The New Face of Mars - 1982
Sources
- Patrick MoorePatrick MooreSir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of...
(1982), Obituary, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical SocietyRoyal Astronomical SocietyThe Royal Astronomical Society is a learned society that began as the Astronomical Society of London in 1820 to support astronomical research . It became the Royal Astronomical Society in 1831 on receiving its Royal Charter from William IV...
, Volume 23, pp. 629–630. - Preface in Life, Mind and Galaxies (1967)
- Second-hand book web-sites including AmazonAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...