The Kodaikanal Observatory was established during the closing years of the 19th century to carry out scientific observations
of the Sun. John Evershed, an established amateur solar observer, came to Kodaikanal in 1907 as the Chief Assistant to the
Director and became the director of the observatory 4 years later. In 1909, he discovered the phenomenon of radial motion
of gases in sun spots, the earliest successful observation of velocity fields due to a complex magnetohydrodynamicalprocess
in actionin a celestial setting. Through Evershed’s work Kodaikanal became known as one of the premier solar observatories
in the world.
Keywords Madras Observatory - solar physics - Kodaikanal Observatory - John Evershed - discovery of Evershed effect
D C V Mallik, an astronomer by training, formally retired from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore three years
ago but is still affiliated to IIA in a visiting capacity. His professional research has been mainly in the area of Interstellar
Matter and Astrophysics of Nebulae. He was an Associate Editor of Resonance from September 2001 to December 2004.
For some years now, Mallik has been interested in History of Science and is currently engaged in a historical study of Jewish
scientists in exile in India.