Tyndall: Climate change visionary

John Tyndall is the man who figured out why the sky is blue, yet he remains a relatively unknown figure, writes Frank McGovern

READERS with long memories may recall a quirky radio advertisement which, why is the sky blue? It then informed the listener that it was John Tyndall, from Co Carlow, who answered this question back in the 19th century.

Figuring out why the sky is blue and therefore why Earth is the unique and special blue planet of the solar system — observed a just century later from space — was one of many remarkable scientific achievements of the almost forgotten Tyndall.