publications

2025

1. 

   Towards a Global History of the 1860 Total Solar Eclipse

   Deborah Kent, Jesse Garrison, Megan Briers, and 3 more authors

   HoST - Journal of History of Science and Technology, Jun 2025

   Abs DOI

   Abstract The path of eclipse totality across North America, Spain, and Northern Africa on 18 July 1860 was accessible to a wide range of observers in diverse geographical and socio-political contexts, the infrastructures of which shaped individual expedition logistics. This joint paper combines in a single frame of reference accounts from British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Algerian, and North American expedition parties. A focus on the scientific objectives of these observers with varied circumstances, institutions, and funding sources raises the question of a global approach to the history of observing the total solar eclipse in 1860.

2024

1. Wikipedia and the Portrayal of Collaborative Networks of Nineteenth-Century British Mathematicians

   Megan Briers

   In Research in History and Philosophy of Mathematics: The CSHPM 2022 Volume, 2024

   Abs DOI

   Collaboration is key to research but it is often hard to assess and evaluate. Understanding how collaborative networks developed in different historical periods can help shed light on how scientific advances have occurred. Most studies aiming to assess collaborative groups use coauthorship as their main statistic. This article aims to move away from studies of collaboration based on flawed co-authorship statistics and introduces a new method of assessing the portrayal of collaborative networks. The method uses computational techniques applied to Wikipedia articles about nineteenth-century British mathematicians and philosophers to identify collaborative networks. This article will briefly summarise the functionality of the software used to extract the information from Wikipedia, evaluate the approach, and look towards future use cases for this kind of analysis.

2022

1. Chasing change: the lasting legacy of India’s 1871 eclipse

   Megan Briers, Mixie Billina, and Deborah Kent

   Astronomy & Geophysics, Feb 2022

   Abs DOI

   The total eclipse of the Sun on 12 December 1871 offered a timely test of new astrophysical methods – and a priceless opportunity for one Indian astronomer.