Leon Mestel made many important contributions through his work on the theory of white dwarf stars; on convection currents and mixing in stars; on stellar hydromagnetics, including the reaction of rotation on the observed surface magnetic fields and the braking of rotation caused by stellar winds; and on anisotropic collapse of gas clouds during star formation, and the accompanying interaction between compressed galactic magnetic fields and the rotation of protostars. By extending similar consideration into the relativistic domain, he contributed towards an understanding of the envelope surrounding pulsars.
Professor Leon Mestel FRS died on 15 September 2017.
Subject groups
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Astronomy and Physics
Astrophysics
