astronomy

Imke de Pater

Imke de Pater 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 Imke de Pater rather than just read about it. In short: Imke de Pater is a Dutch astronomer working at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her research on the large planets and led the team using the Keck Telescope to image the 1994 impact of the comet Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with Jupiter.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Imke de Pater is a Dutch astronomer working at the University of California, Berkeley. She is known for her research on the large planets and led the team using the Keck Telescope to image the 1994 impact of the comet Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with Jupiter.

Education and career De Pater was introduced to astronomy in high school when a family friend gave her an astronomy textbook and introduced her to someone in Utrecht so she could learn about the field. She earned her Ph.D. from Leiden University (1980) while working on radio emissions from Jupiter. de Pater is a professor of astronomy, earth and planetary science from the University of California, Berkeley, and served as the chair of the Astronomy Department.

In 2015 de Pater was named a fellow of the American Geophysical Union who cited her for: far-seeing discoveries and cutting-edge visions of the dynamic outer solar system made from Earth at nearly every wavelength of light

Research De Pater's research centers on observations of the large planets and their rings and satellites (Jupiter, Neptune, Titan, and Uranus) using adaptive optics and radio observations. When the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 collided with Jupiter in 1994, she led the campaign to observe the impact using the Keck Telescope and the animations of the impact of the comet are readily available to the general public. Her research on the rearrangement of the rings of Uranus indicated they are a dynamic feature of the planet and she revealed the presence of new dust belts surrounding Uranus.

Selected publications de Pater, Imke; Lissauer, Jack J. (2015). Planetary Sciences. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316195697. de Pater, Imke; Lissauer, Jack J. (16 September 2013). Fundamental Planetary Science: Physics, Chemistry and Habitability. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521853309. de Pater, I.; Hammel, H. B.; Showalter, M. R.; van Dam, M. A. (28 September 2007). "The Dark Side of the Rings of Uranus". Science. 317 (5846): 1888–1890. Bibcode:2007Sci...317.1888D. doi:10.1126/science.1148103. PMID 17717152. S2CID 23875293. de Pater, Imke; Massie, Steven T. (1 April 1985). "Models of the millimeter-centimeter spectra of the giant planets". Icarus. 62 (1): 143–171. Bibcode:1985Icar...62..143D. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(85)90177-0. ISSN 0019-1035. Mitchell, David L.; de Pater, Imke (1 July 1994). "Microwave Imaging of Mercury's Thermal Emission at Wavelengths from 0.3 to 20.5 cm". Icarus. 110 (1): 2–32. Bibcode:1994Icar..110....2M. doi:10.1006/icar.1994.1105. ISSN 0019-1035. de Pater, I; Heiles, C; Wong, M; Maddalena, R.; Bird, M.; Funke, O; Neidhoefer, J; Price, R.; Kesteven, M; Calabretta, M; Klein, M.; Gulkis, S; Bolton, S.; Foster, R.; Sukumar, S; Strom, R.; LePoole, R.; Spoelstra, T; Robison, M; Hunstead, R.; Campbell-Wilson, D; Ye, T; Dulk, G; Leblanc, Y; Lecacheux, A; et, A. (30 June 1995). "Outburst of Jupiter's synchrotron radiation after the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9". Science. 268 (5219): 1879–1883. Bibcode:1995Sci...268.1879D. doi:10.1126/science.11536723. PMID 11536723. de Pater, Imke; Romani, Paul N.; Atreya, Sushil K. (1 June 1991). "Possible microwave absorption by H2S gas in Uranus' and Neptune's atmospheres". Icarus. 91 (2): 220–233. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(91)90020-T. hdl:2027.42/29299. ISSN 0019-1035. de Pater, Imke; Kurth, William S. (1 January 2007). "Chapter 38 - The Solar System at Radio Wavelengths". Encyclopedia of the Solar System (2nd ed.). pp. 695–718. doi:10.1016/B978-012088589-3/50042-6. ISBN 9780120885893.

Awards and honors C.J. Kok Jury award, Universiteit Leiden (1980) John Howard Dellinger Gold Medal, International Union of Radio Science (USRI) (1984) Sloan Fellowship (1985) Chambliss Astronomical Writing Award for Planetary Astrophysics, American Astronomical Society (2007) Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2015) Oort lecture, Jan Hendrik Oort Foundation and Leiden Observatory (2007)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Imke de Pater

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Imke de Pater 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 Imke de Pater 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 Imke de Pater 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 Imke de Pater

In research: Imke de Pater 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 Imke de Pater 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: Imke de Pater is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fellows of the American Geophysical Union, Leiden University alumni, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Imke de Pater 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.

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How to study Imke de Pater in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Imke de Pater 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 Imke de Pater out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Imke de Pater in simple terms?

Why does Imke de Pater 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 Imke de Pater?

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 Imke de Pater.