astronomy

Gordon J. Garradd

Gordon J. Garradd is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gordon J. Garradd rather than just read about it. In short: Gordon John Garradd (; born 1959) is an Australian amateur astronomer and photographer from Loomberah, New South Wales. He has discovered numerous asteroids and comets, including the hyperbolic comet C/2009 P1, and four novae in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Key takeaways

Gordon J. Garradd belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gordon J. Garradd to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gordon J. Garradd from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gordon John Garradd (; born 1959) is an Australian amateur astronomer and photographer from Loomberah, New South Wales. He has discovered numerous asteroids and comets, including the hyperbolic comet C/2009 P1, and four novae in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The asteroid and Mars-crosser, 5066 Garradd, was named in his honour.

He has worked for a number of astronomical institutions in the US and Australia, most recently at Siding Spring Observatory on the Siding Spring Survey, part of the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey for near-Earth objects (2002–2011). As of 2016, the Minor Planet Center credits him with the discovery of 31 minor planets (see table). There are 16 comets and an asteroid that bear his name. His cometary discoveries include 186P/Garradd (comet Garradd 1), a Jupiter-family comet, and 259P/Garradd (comet Garradd 4), an Encke-type comet. Garradd was born in Australia and lived his early life in Sydney, Canberra, Oberon, and Tamworth. Astronomy has been an interest since his childhood, and he has built many telescopes himself, starting with a 20 cm (8") f/7 Newtonian while still in high school, graduating to making mirrors up to 46 cm (18″) diameter and mounts up to the fork mount for the 46 cm f/5.4 Newtonian, and German equatorial mounted 25 cm (10") f/4.1 that he used for observing near-Earth asteroids and comets. His initial profession was as an accountant, but he left that in 1984 to pursue astronomy and photography full-time. He lives with his wife Hether, off the power grid, using solar and wind power. He is a photographer, mountain bike rider, and solar- and wind-power enthusiast.

References

External links Garradd's web site

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gordon J. Garradd

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gordon J. Garradd claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gordon J. Garradd before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gordon J. Garradd ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gordon J. Garradd

In research: Gordon J. Garradd appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gordon J. Garradd in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gordon J. Garradd is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1959 births, 20th-century Australian astronomers, Discoverers of asteroids, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gordon J. Garradd outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Gordon J. Garradd” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Gordon J. Garradd in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gordon J. Garradd means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gordon J. Garradd out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gordon J. Garradd in simple terms?

Why does Gordon J. Garradd matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gordon J. Garradd?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gordon J. Garradd.