astronomy

James F. Bell III

James F. Bell III 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 James F. Bell III rather than just read about it. In short: James F. Bell III (born July 23, 1965) is a professor of Astronomy at Arizona State University, specializing in the study of planetary geology, geochemistry and mineralogy using data obtained from telescopes and from various spacecraft missions.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

James F. Bell III (born July 23, 1965) is a professor of Astronomy at Arizona State University, specializing in the study of planetary geology, geochemistry and mineralogy using data obtained from telescopes and from various spacecraft missions. Bell's active research has involved the NASA Mars Pathfinder, Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR), Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR), 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Mars Science Laboratory missions. His book Postcards from Mars includes many images taken by the Mars rovers. Bell is currently an editor of the space science journal Icarus and president of The Planetary Society. He has served as the lead scientist in charge of the Panoramic camera (Pancam) color imaging system on Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

Education Bell earned his B.S. degree in Planetary Science and Aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology in 1987. He earned his M.S. degree in Geology and Geophysics in 1989 and his Ph.D. in Planetary Geosciences in 1992 from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Career Bell is an active planetary scientist and has been involved in many NASA robotic space exploration missions. As a professional scientist, he has published over 30 first-authored and 140 co-authored scientific research papers and over 400 short abstracts and conference presentations. Bell has also written and edited several books about Mars and the Moon. He is active in educating the public about space exploration. He is a frequent contributor to popular astronomy and science magazines, has made a number of television appearances on major network and cable channels, and gives free public lectures. He is currently a professor at the Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration and an adjunct professor at the Cornell University Astronomy Department's Center for Radiophysics and Space Research. In July 2014, Bell was selected to be the principal investigator overseeing the Mastcam-Z imaging system for the upcoming Mars 2020 rover mission.

Awards and honors Bell has received a number of awards and honors during his career. Most recently, he was awarded the 2011 Carl Sagan Medal from the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences, for excellence in public communication in planetary sciences. Bell has also received NASA Group Achievement Awards for his part in the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) 3rd and 4th extended missions and the Phoenix Mission Support Team. In 2007 he was named a United States National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow, and in 1996 he was awarded the asteroid name 8146 Jimbell by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in his honor.

Selected works Asteroid Rendezvous: NEAR Shoemaker's Adventures at Eros, ISBN 0-521-81360-3 (co-editor, 2002) Postcards from Mars: The First Photographer on the Red Planet, ISBN 978-0-525-94985-5 (2006) Mars 3-D: A Rover's-Eye View of the Red Planet, ISBN 978-1-4027-5620-7 (2008) The Martian Surface: Composition, Mineralogy and Physical Properties, ISBN 978-0-521-86698-9 (editor, 2008) Moon 3-D: The Lunar Surface Comes to Life, ISBN 978-1-4027-6551-3 (2009) The Space Book: 250 Milestones in the History of Space and Astronomy, ISBN 978-1-4027-8071-4 (2013) The Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission, ISBN 9780698186156 (2015)

References

External links ASU School of Earth and Space Exploration Jim Bell's Personal Web Page Jim Bell's Profile in ASU's School of Earth and Space Exploration Directory Archived 2020-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Jim Bell's Penguin Speaker's Bureau page

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with James F. Bell III

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what James F. Bell III 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 James F. Bell III 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 James F. Bell III 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 James F. Bell III

In research: James F. Bell III 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 James F. Bell III 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: James F. Bell III is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1965 births, 21st-century American astronomers, American planetary scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for James F. Bell III 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 James F. Bell III in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is James F. Bell III in simple terms?

Why does James F. Bell III 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 James F. Bell III?

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 James F. Bell III.