R C Kapoor
Biographic Data
| ID | 8957611 |
|---|---|
| NAME | R C Kapoor |
| GIVEN NAMES | R C |
| FAMILY NAME | Kapoor |
| SIGNATURE | KAPOOR R C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Indian Institute of Astrophysics |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 18 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
“A Star in Flames”
Spectra of novae obtained before maximum brightness are exceptionally rare yet crucial for understanding the initial physics of the explosion. In this paper, we present the recovery and analysis of a unique, unpublished set of spectroscopic plates of Nova Puppis 1942 taken from the archives of the Observatorio Astronómico de La Plata (La Plata Astronomical Observatory, Argentina). The collection of spectra, recorded by Dr. A. Wilkens starting on …
The Role of Three William Herschel Telescopes in Colonial India
In this paper we provide information on some of the telescopes to which one of the most prominent names in the history of astronomy is attached: Frederick William Herschel. He built telescopes of different apertures and focal lengths, the majority being 7-ft or 10-ft focus, and gifted or sold to those interested. We find that at least three 10-ft Herschel telescopes were brought to Calcutta, India, and were used for astronomical observations by B…
Chasing Mercury
Planets passing across the disk of the Sun are among the most uncommon and fascinating phenomena in the Solar System. From the Earth, the transits of only Mercury and Venus can be seen. Early on, the transits of Venus were important for precisely determining the scale of the Solar System whereas the transits of Mercury were used to accurately ascertain its orbit and variations in the size of the Sun. This paper presents observations of transits o…
“On the Earliest Inscriptional Records of Indian Solar Eclipses”
Indian Initiatives to Establish ‘Western’ Astronomical Observatories Prior to Independence. 2
Indian Initiatives to Establish ‘Western’ Astronomical Observatories Prior to independence.2
This paper outlines the efforts to establish Western-style astronomical observatories in India made by colleges and universities over the last century prior to Indian independence in 1947. The focus is therefore on the nineteenth-century emergence of the Presidency College Observatory in Calcutta, St. Xavier’s College Observatory in Calcutta, Takhtasinghji Observatory in Poona, and Langat Singh College Observatory in Muzaffarpur. Three of these o…
The Kurtakoti Grant
Comet 1p/Halley in 1910
This paper presents observations of Comet 1P/Halley made from India during its apparition in 1910. The comet was well observed from various locations, and newly formed observatories made observations throughout the visibility phase. We also discuss the impact of the apparition on people from different walks of life
Colonial Astronomy as an Element of Empire in British India
In this paper we outline the efforts made by the East India Company, the British colonial authorities, visiting astronomical expeditions and expatriate amateur astronomers to establish astronomical observatories in India during the three centuries prior to Indian Independence in 1947. The focus of this paper is therefore primarily on the emergence of Madras, Colaba, Calcutta, Dehra Dun, Hennessey and Kodaikanal Observatories. But we also discuss …
On the Zeiss Telescope Gifted by Adolf Hitler to the Rana of Nepal
This paper is about a century-old 130-mm (5-inch) Zeiss refractor that is in the possession of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, India, and is on display in its Museum. The telescope is historical, being a gift from the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to Maharaja Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal in 1938. It turns out that this was not Adolf Hitler’s personal telescope as has been presumed by some, although he did have…
Indian Initiatives to Establish 'Western’ Astronomical Observatories Prior to Independence. 1
This paper outlines the efforts at establishing observatories in India for modern astronomical observations made by aristocrats over the last century or so prior to Indian independence in 1947. The focus of this paper is therefore on three institutions only, the Royal Observatory at Lucknow, Trevandrum Observatory, and Nizamiah Observatory in Hyderabad. This demonstrates that the concept of 'patronage’ was alive and well in nineteenth century Ind…
Finding King Janaméjaya’s Eclipse
There are innumerable records on stone and metal found in India detailing grants of land and donations made by kings and chieftains to Brahman priests, many on the occasions of eclipses and on the cardinal days. In this paper we investigate one such grant, first written about by Henry Colebrooke in 1809. It is from Gauj, the modern Gowthamapura in Shivamogga district in Karnataka state. Spread over three copper plates, the inscription is in mixed…
Tales From India. 1
Meteor phenomena are always fascinating and capture popular attention. This paper reports results of a search for references to and records of meteor showers observed in the Indian region, until the close of the nineteenth century. The sources explored were the Indian classics and chronicles, institutional reports and accounts by individuals, including those published in professional journals. We found very few references to such events in the cl…
Fixing the Chronology in Tai-Ahom Chronicles by Using Astronomical References
The Tai-Ahom are an ethnic group, the admixed descendants of the Tai or Shan people who migrated from North Burma into the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam in India in the early decades of the thirteenth century. Their history is meticulously documented in chronicles called buranjis , manuscripts written in the Ahom or Assamese language. The Ahom Buranji (Royal Chronicle) was first translated in 1930 and covers Ahom history from the earliest times unt…
Tales From India
This paper discusses the observations of the Great March Comet of 1843 made from India. The observers were at various locations and the newly formed observatories participated in the astronomical observations spread over a long phase of the apparition. Of great interest were the observations by Dr George Buist at the Colaba Observatory made on 5 and 6 March when the tail of the comet seemed to vibrate, with pulses of light appearing to shoot out …
Comet Tales From India
On 02 June 1858 at the Observatory of Florence, Giambattista Donati (1826-1873) discovered a faint nebulous patch what was destined to become one of the most brilliant comets in history. Named after him, Donati's Comet (1858 VI; C/1858 L1 (Donati)) enthralled sky watchers in Europe and elsewhere like never before. This paper brings together tales of the observations of this comet made in India. Ironically, the celestial visitor happened to rise i…
The Total Solar Eclipse in the Bhagavata
There is reference to a total solar eclipse over Kurukshetra in an ancient Indian text, the Srimadbhagvata (also the Bhagavata ). The occasion drew not just Lord Krsṇa, his brother Balarama and their clan from Dwarka, but also their parents and the folk from the Braj region, the Pandava family and all the prominent characters of the epic Mahabharata, including many kings from far and wide. The eclipse had been predicted to be a total, like the on…
Comet Tales From India
This paper brings together India-centric accounts of the Great Comet that appeared in 1882. It grew to be the most magnificent one seen since the Great Comet of 1843, and was observed from throughout the Indian Subcontinent. The comet of 1882 has been variously designated as the Great September Comet, 1882 II, 1882b and C/1882 R1. We look into the observations of the comet made in India by persons of diverse backgrounds, namely, by Norman Pogson,…
No prominent works on this page.
Comet Tales From India
This paper brings together India-centric accounts of the Great Comet that appeared in 1882. It grew to be the most magnificent one seen since the Great Comet of 1843, and was observed from throughout the Indian Subcontinent. The comet of 1882 has been variously designated as the Great September Comet, 1882 II, 1882b and C/1882 R1. We look into the observations of the comet made in India by persons of diverse backgrounds, namely, by Norman Pogson,…
Fixing the Chronology in Tai-Ahom Chronicles by Using Astronomical References
The Tai-Ahom are an ethnic group, the admixed descendants of the Tai or Shan people who migrated from North Burma into the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam in India in the early decades of the thirteenth century. Their history is meticulously documented in chronicles called buranjis , manuscripts written in the Ahom or Assamese language. The Ahom Buranji (Royal Chronicle) was first translated in 1930 and covers Ahom history from the earliest times unt…
Tales From India
This paper discusses the observations of the Great March Comet of 1843 made from India. The observers were at various locations and the newly formed observatories participated in the astronomical observations spread over a long phase of the apparition. Of great interest were the observations by Dr George Buist at the Colaba Observatory made on 5 and 6 March when the tail of the comet seemed to vibrate, with pulses of light appearing to shoot out …
Comet Tales From India
On 02 June 1858 at the Observatory of Florence, Giambattista Donati (1826-1873) discovered a faint nebulous patch what was destined to become one of the most brilliant comets in history. Named after him, Donati's Comet (1858 VI; C/1858 L1 (Donati)) enthralled sky watchers in Europe and elsewhere like never before. This paper brings together tales of the observations of this comet made in India. Ironically, the celestial visitor happened to rise i…
The Total Solar Eclipse in the Bhagavata
There is reference to a total solar eclipse over Kurukshetra in an ancient Indian text, the Srimadbhagvata (also the Bhagavata ). The occasion drew not just Lord Krsṇa, his brother Balarama and their clan from Dwarka, but also their parents and the folk from the Braj region, the Pandava family and all the prominent characters of the epic Mahabharata, including many kings from far and wide. The eclipse had been predicted to be a total, like the on…
Tales From India. 1
Meteor phenomena are always fascinating and capture popular attention. This paper reports results of a search for references to and records of meteor showers observed in the Indian region, until the close of the nineteenth century. The sources explored were the Indian classics and chronicles, institutional reports and accounts by individuals, including those published in professional journals. We found very few references to such events in the cl…
Comet 1p/Halley in 1910
This paper presents observations of Comet 1P/Halley made from India during its apparition in 1910. The comet was well observed from various locations, and newly formed observatories made observations throughout the visibility phase. We also discuss the impact of the apparition on people from different walks of life
Colonial Astronomy as an Element of Empire in British India
In this paper we outline the efforts made by the East India Company, the British colonial authorities, visiting astronomical expeditions and expatriate amateur astronomers to establish astronomical observatories in India during the three centuries prior to Indian Independence in 1947. The focus of this paper is therefore primarily on the emergence of Madras, Colaba, Calcutta, Dehra Dun, Hennessey and Kodaikanal Observatories. But we also discuss …
On the Zeiss Telescope Gifted by Adolf Hitler to the Rana of Nepal
This paper is about a century-old 130-mm (5-inch) Zeiss refractor that is in the possession of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling, India, and is on display in its Museum. The telescope is historical, being a gift from the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to Maharaja Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal in 1938. It turns out that this was not Adolf Hitler’s personal telescope as has been presumed by some, although he did have…
Indian Initiatives to Establish 'Western’ Astronomical Observatories Prior to Independence. 1
This paper outlines the efforts at establishing observatories in India for modern astronomical observations made by aristocrats over the last century or so prior to Indian independence in 1947. The focus of this paper is therefore on three institutions only, the Royal Observatory at Lucknow, Trevandrum Observatory, and Nizamiah Observatory in Hyderabad. This demonstrates that the concept of 'patronage’ was alive and well in nineteenth century Ind…
Finding King Janaméjaya’s Eclipse
There are innumerable records on stone and metal found in India detailing grants of land and donations made by kings and chieftains to Brahman priests, many on the occasions of eclipses and on the cardinal days. In this paper we investigate one such grant, first written about by Henry Colebrooke in 1809. It is from Gauj, the modern Gowthamapura in Shivamogga district in Karnataka state. Spread over three copper plates, the inscription is in mixed…
“On the Earliest Inscriptional Records of Indian Solar Eclipses”
Indian Initiatives to Establish ‘Western’ Astronomical Observatories Prior to Independence. 2
Indian Initiatives to Establish ‘Western’ Astronomical Observatories Prior to independence.2
This paper outlines the efforts to establish Western-style astronomical observatories in India made by colleges and universities over the last century prior to Indian independence in 1947. The focus is therefore on the nineteenth-century emergence of the Presidency College Observatory in Calcutta, St. Xavier’s College Observatory in Calcutta, Takhtasinghji Observatory in Poona, and Langat Singh College Observatory in Muzaffarpur. Three of these o…
The Kurtakoti Grant
The Role of Three William Herschel Telescopes in Colonial India
In this paper we provide information on some of the telescopes to which one of the most prominent names in the history of astronomy is attached: Frederick William Herschel. He built telescopes of different apertures and focal lengths, the majority being 7-ft or 10-ft focus, and gifted or sold to those interested. We find that at least three 10-ft Herschel telescopes were brought to Calcutta, India, and were used for astronomical observations by B…
Chasing Mercury
Planets passing across the disk of the Sun are among the most uncommon and fascinating phenomena in the Solar System. From the Earth, the transits of only Mercury and Venus can be seen. Early on, the transits of Venus were important for precisely determining the scale of the Solar System whereas the transits of Mercury were used to accurately ascertain its orbit and variations in the size of the Sun. This paper presents observations of transits o…
“A Star in Flames”
Spectra of novae obtained before maximum brightness are exceptionally rare yet crucial for understanding the initial physics of the explosion. In this paper, we present the recovery and analysis of a unique, unpublished set of spectroscopic plates of Nova Puppis 1942 taken from the archives of the Observatorio Astronómico de La Plata (La Plata Astronomical Observatory, Argentina). The collection of spectra, recorded by Dr. A. Wilkens starting on …
Astronomy (13 works) · Physics (13 works) · History (10 works) · Historical Astronomy and Related Studies (9 works) · History and Developments in Astronomy (9 works) · Geography (8 works) · Ancient history (5 works) · Comet (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Art (3 works)