Carl Størmer
Encyclopedia
Fredrik Carl Mülertz Størmer (September 3, 1874 – August 13, 1957) was a Norwegian
mathematician
and physicist
, known both for his work in number theory
and for studying the movement of charged particles in the magnetosphere
and the formation of aurorae
.
, Norway
, the only child of a pharmacist. He studied mathematics at the University of Christiania (now the University of Oslo
) from 1892 to 1897, earning the rank of candidatus realium (roughly equivalent to a Ph.D.) in 1898. He then studied with Picard
, Poincaré
, Painlevé
, Jordan
, Darboux
, and Goursat
at the Sorbonne
in Paris
from 1898 to 1900. On his return to Christiania in 1900 as a research fellow in mathematics, he married Ada Clauson, with whom he eventually had five children. He visited Göttingen
in 1902, and returned to Oslo in 1903, where he was appointed as a professor of mathematics, a position he held for 43 years. After he received a permanent position in Oslo, Størmer published his subsequent writings under a shortened version of his name, Carl Størmer. In 1918, he was elected as the first president of the newly-formed Norwegian Mathematical Society
. He participated regularly in Scandinavian mathematical congresses, and was president of the 1936 International Congress of Mathematicians
in Oslo
. Størmer was also affiliated with the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, which was founded in 1934. He died on August 13, 1957, at Blindern
, Norway
.
Størmer was also an amateur street photographer
, beginning in his student days, and near the age of 70 he put on an exhibition in Oslo of the photographs of celebrities that he had taken over the years.
He is the grandfather of the famous mathematician Erling Størmer
.
series
generalizing the Taylor expansion of the arcsine function, a problem he revisited again a few years later. Next, he systematically investigated Machin-like formula by which the number π
may be represented as a rational combination of the so-called "Gregory number
s" of the form tan−1(1/n). Machin's
original formula,
is of this type, and Størmer showed that there were three other ways of representing π as a rational combination of two Gregory numbers. He then investigated combinations of three Gregory numbers, and found 102 representations of π of this form, but was unable to determine whether there might be additional solutions of this type. These representations led to fast algorithms for computing numerical approximations of π
; a four-term representation found by Størmer,
was used in a record-setting calculation of π to 1,241,100,000,000 decimal digits in 2002 by Yasumasa Kanada
. Størmer is also noted for the Størmer number
s, which arose from the decomposition of Gregory numbers in Størmer's work.
Størmer's theorem
, which he proved in 1897, shows that, for any finite set P of prime numbers, there are only finitely many pairs of consecutive integers having only the numbers from P as their prime factor
s. In addition, Størmer describes an algorithm
for finding all such pairs. The superparticular ratios generated by these consecutive pairs are of particular importance in music theory. Størmer proves this theorem by reducing the problem to a finite set of Pell equations
, and the theorem itself can also be interpreted as describing the possible factorizations of solutions to Pell's equation. Chapman quotes Louis Mordell
as saying "His result is very pretty, and there are many applications of it."
Additional subjects of Størmer's mathematical research included Lie group
s, the gamma function
, and Diophantine approximation
of algebraic number
s and of the transcendental number
s arising from elliptic function
s. From 1905 Størmer was an editor of the journal Acta Mathematica
, and he was also an editor of the posthumously-published mathematical works of Niels Henrik Abel
and Sophus Lie
.
's experimental attempts to explain the aurora borealis
, he was fascinated by aurorae and related phenomena. His first work on the subject attempted to model mathematically the paths taken by charged particles perturbed by the influence of a magnet
ized sphere
, and Størmer eventually published over 48 papers on the motion of charged particles. By modeling the problem using differential equation
s and polar coordinates, Størmer was able to show that the radius of curvature
of any particle's path is proportional to the square of its distance from the sphere's center. To solve the resulting differential equations numerically, he used Verlet integration
, which is therefore also known as Störmer's method. Ernst Brüche
and Willard Harrison Bennett
verified experimentally Størmer's predicted particle motions; Bennett called his experimental apparatus "Störmertron" in honor of Størmer. Størmer's calculations showed that small variations in the trajectories of particles approaching the earth would be magnified by the effects of the Earth's magnetic field, explaining the convoluted shapes of aurorae. Størmer also considered the possibility that particles might be trapped within the magnetic field, and worked out the orbits of these trapped particles, a prediction that was borne out after his death by the 1958 discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt
.
As well as modeling these phenomena mathematically, Størmer took many photograph
s of aurorae, from 20 different observatories across Norway. He measured their heights and latitudes by triangulation
from multiple observatories, and discovered that the aurora are typically as high as 100 kilometers above ground. He classified them by their shapes, and discovered in 1926 the "solar-illuminated aurora", a phenomenon that can occur at twilight when the upper parts of an aurora are lit by the sun; these aurorae can be as high as 1000 km above ground. His work, including laboratory 'aurora reproductions', had gathered international popular interest by 1928.
Størmer's book, From the depths of space to the heart of the atom, describing his work in this area, was translated into five different languages from the original Norwegian. A second book, The Polar Aurora (Oxford Press, 1955), contains both his experimental work on aurorae and his mathematical attempts to model them. In his review of this book, J. F. Heard calls Størmer "the acknowledged authority" on aurorae. Heard writes, "The Polar Aurora will undoubtedly remain for many years a standard reference book; it belongs on the desk of anyone whose work or interest is involved with aurorae."
Other astrophysical phenomena investigated by Størmer include pulsations of the earth's magnetic field
, echoing
in radio
transmissions, nacreous clouds and luminous night clouds, zodiacal light
, meteor
trails, the solar corona and solar vortices, and cosmic ray
s.
and a corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences
. He was also a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
from 1900. He was given honorary degrees by Oxford University (in 1947), the University of Copenhagen
(1951), and the Sorbonne
(1953), and in 1922 the French Academy awarded him their Janssen Medal
. In 1971, the crater Störmer
on the far side of the Moon was named after him.
In 1902, Størmer was decorated with King Oscar II's Medal of Merit in gold. He was also decorated as a Knight, First Order of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1939. He was awarded the Grand Cross
of the Order of St. Olav in 1954.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
and physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, known both for his work in number theory
Number theory
Number theory is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers. Number theorists study prime numbers as well...
and for studying the movement of charged particles in the magnetosphere
Magnetosphere
A magnetosphere is formed when a stream of charged particles, such as the solar wind, interacts with and is deflected by the intrinsic magnetic field of a planet or similar body. Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere, as are the other planets with intrinsic magnetic fields: Mercury, Jupiter,...
and the formation of aurorae
Aurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
.
Biography
Størmer was born September 3, 1874, in SkienSkien
' is a city and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien. Skien is also the administrative centre of Telemark county....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, the only child of a pharmacist. He studied mathematics at the University of Christiania (now the University of Oslo
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
) from 1892 to 1897, earning the rank of candidatus realium (roughly equivalent to a Ph.D.) in 1898. He then studied with Picard
Charles Émile Picard
Charles Émile Picard FRS was a French mathematician. He was elected the fifteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the Académie Française in 1924.- Biography :...
, Poincaré
Henri Poincaré
Jules Henri Poincaré was a French mathematician, theoretical physicist, engineer, and a philosopher of science...
, Painlevé
Paul Painlevé
Paul Painlevé was a French mathematician and politician. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925.-Early life:Painlevé was born in Paris....
, Jordan
Camille Jordan
Marie Ennemond Camille Jordan was a French mathematician, known both for his foundational work in group theory and for his influential Cours d'analyse. He was born in Lyon and educated at the École polytechnique...
, Darboux
Jean Gaston Darboux
Jean-Gaston Darboux was a French mathematician.-Life:Darboux made several important contributions to geometry and mathematical analysis . He was a biographer of Henri Poincaré and he edited the Selected Works of Joseph Fourier.Darboux received his Ph.D...
, and Goursat
Edouard Goursat
Édouard Jean-Baptiste Goursat was a French mathematician, now remembered principally as an expositor for his Cours d'analyse mathématique, which appeared in the first decade of the twentieth century. It set a standard for the high-level teaching of mathematical analysis, especially complex analysis...
at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from 1898 to 1900. On his return to Christiania in 1900 as a research fellow in mathematics, he married Ada Clauson, with whom he eventually had five children. He visited Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
in 1902, and returned to Oslo in 1903, where he was appointed as a professor of mathematics, a position he held for 43 years. After he received a permanent position in Oslo, Størmer published his subsequent writings under a shortened version of his name, Carl Størmer. In 1918, he was elected as the first president of the newly-formed Norwegian Mathematical Society
Norwegian Mathematical Society
The Norwegian Mathematical Society is a professional society for mathematicians. It also organizes mathematical contests and the annual Abel symposium. It was formed in 1918, with Carl Størmer elected as its first president....
. He participated regularly in Scandinavian mathematical congresses, and was president of the 1936 International Congress of Mathematicians
International Congress of Mathematicians
The International Congress of Mathematicians is the largest conference for the topic of mathematics. It meets once every four years, hosted by the International Mathematical Union ....
in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. Størmer was also affiliated with the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo, which was founded in 1934. He died on August 13, 1957, at Blindern
Blindern
Blindern is the main campus of the University of Oslo, located in Nordre Aker in Oslo, Norway.-The campus:Most of the departments of the University of Oslo are located at Blindern; other, smaller campuses include Sentrum , Gaustad , St...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Størmer was also an amateur street photographer
Street photography
Street photography is a type of documentary photography that features subjects in candid situations within public places such as streets, parks, beaches, malls, political conventions and other settings....
, beginning in his student days, and near the age of 70 he put on an exhibition in Oslo of the photographs of celebrities that he had taken over the years.
He is the grandfather of the famous mathematician Erling Størmer
Erling Størmer
Erling Størmer is a Norwegian mathematician.He was born in Oslo as a son of Leif Størmer. He was a grandson of Carl Størmer and nephew of Per Størmer. He took his doctorate at Columbia University in 1963, and was a professor at the University of Oslo from 1974 to his retirement in 2007...
.
Mathematical research
Størmer's first mathematical publication, published when he was a beginning student at the age of 18, concerned trigonometricTrigonometry
Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies triangles and the relationships between their sides and the angles between these sides. Trigonometry defines the trigonometric functions, which describe those relationships and have applicability to cyclical phenomena, such as waves...
series
Series (mathematics)
A series is the sum of the terms of a sequence. Finite sequences and series have defined first and last terms, whereas infinite sequences and series continue indefinitely....
generalizing the Taylor expansion of the arcsine function, a problem he revisited again a few years later. Next, he systematically investigated Machin-like formula by which the number π
Pi
' is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of any circle's circumference to its diameter. is approximately equal to 3.14. Many formulae in mathematics, science, and engineering involve , which makes it one of the most important mathematical constants...
may be represented as a rational combination of the so-called "Gregory number
Gregory number
In mathematics, a Gregory number, named after James Gregory, is a real number of the form:where x is any rational number greater or equal to 1. Considering the power series expansion for arctangent, we have...
s" of the form tan−1(1/n). Machin's
John Machin
John Machin, , a professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London, is best known for developing a quickly converging series for Pi in 1706 and using it to compute Pi to 100 decimal places.Machin's formula is:...
original formula,
is of this type, and Størmer showed that there were three other ways of representing π as a rational combination of two Gregory numbers. He then investigated combinations of three Gregory numbers, and found 102 representations of π of this form, but was unable to determine whether there might be additional solutions of this type. These representations led to fast algorithms for computing numerical approximations of π
Numerical approximations of π
This page is about the history of approximations for the mathematical constant pi . There is a table summarizing the chronology of computation of π. See also the history of pi for other aspects of the evolution of our knowledge about mathematical properties of pi...
; a four-term representation found by Størmer,
was used in a record-setting calculation of π to 1,241,100,000,000 decimal digits in 2002 by Yasumasa Kanada
Yasumasa Kanada
is a Japanese mathematician most known for his numerous world records over the past three decades for calculating digits of π. He has set the record 11 of the past 21 times....
. Størmer is also noted for the Størmer number
Størmer number
In mathematics, a Størmer number or arc-cotangent irreducible number, named after Carl Størmer, is a positive integer n for which the greatest prime factor of n2 + 1 meets or exceeds 2n. The first few Størmer numbers are 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, etc....
s, which arose from the decomposition of Gregory numbers in Størmer's work.
Størmer's theorem
Størmer's theorem
In number theory, Størmer's theorem, named after Carl Størmer, gives a finite bound on the number of consecutive pairs of smooth numbers that exist, for a given degree of smoothness, and provides a method for finding all such pairs using Pell equations...
, which he proved in 1897, shows that, for any finite set P of prime numbers, there are only finitely many pairs of consecutive integers having only the numbers from P as their prime factor
Prime factor
In number theory, the prime factors of a positive integer are the prime numbers that divide that integer exactly, without leaving a remainder. The process of finding these numbers is called integer factorization, or prime factorization. A prime factor can be visualized by understanding Euclid's...
s. In addition, Størmer describes an algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
for finding all such pairs. The superparticular ratios generated by these consecutive pairs are of particular importance in music theory. Størmer proves this theorem by reducing the problem to a finite set of Pell equations
Pell's equation
Pell's equation is any Diophantine equation of the formx^2-ny^2=1\,where n is a nonsquare integer. The word Diophantine means that integer values of x and y are sought. Trivially, x = 1 and y = 0 always solve this equation...
, and the theorem itself can also be interpreted as describing the possible factorizations of solutions to Pell's equation. Chapman quotes Louis Mordell
Louis Mordell
Louis Joel Mordell was a British mathematician, known for pioneering research in number theory. He was born in Philadelphia, USA, in a Jewish family of Lithuanian extraction...
as saying "His result is very pretty, and there are many applications of it."
Additional subjects of Størmer's mathematical research included Lie group
Lie group
In mathematics, a Lie group is a group which is also a differentiable manifold, with the property that the group operations are compatible with the smooth structure...
s, the gamma function
Gamma function
In mathematics, the gamma function is an extension of the factorial function, with its argument shifted down by 1, to real and complex numbers...
, and Diophantine approximation
Diophantine approximation
In number theory, the field of Diophantine approximation, named after Diophantus of Alexandria, deals with the approximation of real numbers by rational numbers....
of algebraic number
Algebraic number
In mathematics, an algebraic number is a number that is a root of a non-zero polynomial in one variable with rational coefficients. Numbers such as π that are not algebraic are said to be transcendental; almost all real numbers are transcendental...
s and of the transcendental number
Transcendental number
In mathematics, a transcendental number is a number that is not algebraic—that is, it is not a root of a non-constant polynomial equation with rational coefficients. The most prominent examples of transcendental numbers are π and e...
s arising from elliptic function
Elliptic function
In complex analysis, an elliptic function is a function defined on the complex plane that is periodic in two directions and at the same time is meromorphic...
s. From 1905 Størmer was an editor of the journal Acta Mathematica
Acta Mathematica
Acta Mathematica is a journal publishing original research papers in all fields of mathematics. The journal was founded by Gösta Mittag-Leffler in 1882 and is published by Institut Mittag-Leffler, a research institute for mathematics belonging to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences...
, and he was also an editor of the posthumously-published mathematical works of Niels Henrik Abel
Niels Henrik Abel
Niels Henrik Abel was a Norwegian mathematician who proved the impossibility of solving the quintic equation in radicals.-Early life:...
and Sophus Lie
Sophus Lie
Marius Sophus Lie was a Norwegian mathematician. He largely created the theory of continuous symmetry, and applied it to the study of geometry and differential equations.- Biography :...
.
Astrophysical research
From 1903, when Størmer first observed Kristian BirkelandKristian Birkeland
Kristian Olaf Birkeland was a Norwegian scientist. He is best remembered as the person who first elucidated the nature of the Aurora borealis. In order to fund his research on the aurorae, he invented the electromagnetic cannon and the Birkeland-Eyde process of fixing nitrogen from the air...
's experimental attempts to explain the aurora borealis
Aurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
, he was fascinated by aurorae and related phenomena. His first work on the subject attempted to model mathematically the paths taken by charged particles perturbed by the influence of a magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
ized sphere
Sphere
A sphere is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point...
, and Størmer eventually published over 48 papers on the motion of charged particles. By modeling the problem using differential equation
Differential equation
A differential equation is a mathematical equation for an unknown function of one or several variables that relates the values of the function itself and its derivatives of various orders...
s and polar coordinates, Størmer was able to show that the radius of curvature
Radius of curvature (mathematics)
In geometry, the radius of curvature, R, of a curve at a point is a measure of the radius of the circular arc which best approximates the curve at that point. If this value taken to be positive when the curve turns anticlockwise and negative when the curve turns clockwise...
of any particle's path is proportional to the square of its distance from the sphere's center. To solve the resulting differential equations numerically, he used Verlet integration
Verlet integration
Verlet integration is a numerical method used to integrate Newton's equations of motion. It is frequently used to calculate trajectories of particles in molecular dynamics simulations and computer graphics...
, which is therefore also known as Störmer's method. Ernst Brüche
Ernst Brüche
Ernst Carl Reinhold Brüche was a German physicist. From 1944 to 1972, he was the editor of the Physikalische Blätter, a publication of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.-Education:...
and Willard Harrison Bennett
Willard Harrison Bennett
Willard Harrison Bennett was a scientist and inventor, born in Findlay, Ohio. Bennett conducted research into plasma physics, astrophysics, geophysics, surface physics, and physical chemistry...
verified experimentally Størmer's predicted particle motions; Bennett called his experimental apparatus "Störmertron" in honor of Størmer. Størmer's calculations showed that small variations in the trajectories of particles approaching the earth would be magnified by the effects of the Earth's magnetic field, explaining the convoluted shapes of aurorae. Størmer also considered the possibility that particles might be trapped within the magnetic field, and worked out the orbits of these trapped particles, a prediction that was borne out after his death by the 1958 discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt
Van Allen radiation belt
The Van Allen radiation belt is a torus of energetic charged particles around Earth, which is held in place by Earth's magnetic field. It is believed that most of the particles that form the belts come from solar wind, and other particles by cosmic rays. It is named after its discoverer, James...
.
As well as modeling these phenomena mathematically, Størmer took many photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s of aurorae, from 20 different observatories across Norway. He measured their heights and latitudes by triangulation
Triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline, rather than measuring distances to the point directly...
from multiple observatories, and discovered that the aurora are typically as high as 100 kilometers above ground. He classified them by their shapes, and discovered in 1926 the "solar-illuminated aurora", a phenomenon that can occur at twilight when the upper parts of an aurora are lit by the sun; these aurorae can be as high as 1000 km above ground. His work, including laboratory 'aurora reproductions', had gathered international popular interest by 1928.
Størmer's book, From the depths of space to the heart of the atom, describing his work in this area, was translated into five different languages from the original Norwegian. A second book, The Polar Aurora (Oxford Press, 1955), contains both his experimental work on aurorae and his mathematical attempts to model them. In his review of this book, J. F. Heard calls Størmer "the acknowledged authority" on aurorae. Heard writes, "The Polar Aurora will undoubtedly remain for many years a standard reference book; it belongs on the desk of anyone whose work or interest is involved with aurorae."
Other astrophysical phenomena investigated by Størmer include pulsations of the earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field is the magnetic field that extends from the Earth's inner core to where it meets the solar wind, a stream of energetic particles emanating from the Sun...
, echoing
Long delayed echo
Long delayed echoes are radio echoes which return to the sender several seconds after a radio transmission has occurred. Delays of longer than 2.7 seconds are considered LDEs. LDEs are scientific anomalies of uncertain origin.-History:...
in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
transmissions, nacreous clouds and luminous night clouds, zodiacal light
Zodiacal light
Zodiacal light is a faint, roughly triangular, whitish glow seen in the night sky which appears to extend up from the vicinity of the sun along the ecliptic or zodiac. Caused by sunlight scattered by space dust in the zodiacal cloud, it is so faint that either moonlight or light pollution renders...
, meteor
METEOR
METEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
trails, the solar corona and solar vortices, and cosmic ray
Cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
s.
Awards and honors
Størmer was a foreign member of the Royal SocietyRoyal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and a corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
. He was also a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway.-History:The University of Oslo was established in 1811. The idea of a learned society in Christiania surfaced for the first time in 1841. The city of Throndhjem had no university, but had a learned...
from 1900. He was given honorary degrees by Oxford University (in 1947), the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
(1951), and the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
(1953), and in 1922 the French Academy awarded him their Janssen Medal
Janssen Medal (French Academy of Sciences)
The Janssen Medal is an astrophysics award presented by the French Academy of Sciences to those who have made advances in this area of science.The award was founded in 1886, though the first medal was not awarded until a year later...
. In 1971, the crater Störmer
Störmer (crater)
Störmer is a lunar impact crater that is located on the far side of the Moon from the Earth, named after Carl Størmer, a Norwegian mathematician and aurora researcher...
on the far side of the Moon was named after him.
In 1902, Størmer was decorated with King Oscar II's Medal of Merit in gold. He was also decorated as a Knight, First Order of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1939. He was awarded the Grand Cross
Grand Cross
The phrase Grand Cross is used to denote the highest grade in many orders of knighthood. Sometimes the holders of the highest grade are referred to "knights grand cross" or just "grand crosses"; in other cases the actual insignia itself is called "the grand cross".Alternatively, in some other...
of the Order of St. Olav in 1954.