Axel Firsoff
Amateur astronomer and author of unorthodox lunar and planetary books.
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Valdemar Axel Firsoff FRAS was an amateur astronomer known for his numerous books on the Moon, inner planets, and extraterrestrial life. He held unorthodox views, such as rejecting the expansion of the universe and proposing volcanic origins for lunar craters, and speculated that mind is an entity of the same order as energy and matter.
Background
Axel Firsoff held an MA in languages and worked as a Swedish translator and in the UK Patent Office. He was a keen mountaineer and skier, serving as a ski instructor for the British Olympic Ski Team in the 1950s. His interest in science, particularly geology and astronomy, led him to publish many books on the Moon and inner planets. Many of his works 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 considered ahead of its time. Firsoff held unorthodox views, including disbelief in the expansion of the universe. His ideas on lunar craters—which he considered volcanic rather than cosmological—were later proved incorrect. In Strange World of the Moon, he suggested underground oceans on the Moon, a view most astronomers did not accept, though the book was recommended for its interesting new ideas.
A 1977 review of The Solar Planets noted that Firsoff queried the established 234-day rotation period of Venus, introduced superheated steam in its atmosphere, and proposed seas at the Venusian poles, warning that inexperienced readers would not know these views were unorthodox.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Axel Firsoff?
Valdemar Axel Firsoff (1912–1981) was a British amateur astronomer and prolific author who wrote numerous books on the Moon, the inner planets, and the prospect of extraterrestrial life. He carried the post-nominal FRAS, reflecting his connection to the Royal Astronomical Society.
Where was Axel Firsoff born and where did he spend his final years?
He was born on 29 January 1912 in Bila Tserkva, then part of the Russian Empire, and later settled in Lochearnhead, Scotland, before moving to Glastonbury, Somerset, England. He died on 19 November 1981.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Axel Firsoff (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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