astronomy

Jean Mueller

Jean Mueller 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 Jean Mueller rather than just read about it. In short: Jean Mueller (born 1950) is an American astronomer and discoverer of comets, minor planets, and a large number of supernovas at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Jean Mueller (born 1950) is an American astronomer and discoverer of comets, minor planets, and a large number of supernovas at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California.

Scientific career In 1983, she became the first woman to operate the historic Hooker telescope at Mt. Wilson Observatory and was the first woman hired as a telescope operator at Palomar Observatory in 1985. The Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II) got under way in August 1985, with the first of the 14" photographic glass plates being pulled off the Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (then called the 48-inch Schmidt Camera). Jean Mueller was hired as the 48-Inch Night Assistant in July of that year, and worked in the capacity as observer and telescope operator for the duration. She took over 5500 photographic plates and had the honor of setting the telescope and removing the final plate from the historic Schmidt Camera on June 3, 2000, as well as discovering her last supernova, 2000cm, on that same night. Jean Mueller spent hundreds of hours (in her spare time) scanning POSS II plates under high magnification looking for comets, fast-moving asteroids, and supernovae on an X/Y stage that held the 1 mm thick glass plates. Mueller would sometimes mark over a hundred galaxies recorded on a single POSS II plate to hunt for supernova candidates. She would then compare these plates with the first Palomar Sky Survey (POSS I) of similar fields. It was during the years of the POSS II project that Jean Mueller made all of her discoveries.

Discoveries

Working at Palomar Observatory, she discovered a total of 15 comets, including 7 periodic comets 120P/Mueller, 131P/Mueller, 136P/Mueller, 149P/Mueller, 173P/Mueller, 188P/LINEAR-Mueller, 190P/Mueller, and 8 non-periodic comets. She is credited by the Minor Planet Center with the discovery of 13 numbered minor planets during 1987–1993, including several near-Earth objects such as the Apollo asteroids 4257 Ubasti, 9162 Kwiila, and 12711 Tukmit and the Amor asteroid 6569 Ondaatje. Mueller consulted with the Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission Indians for the naming of 9162 Kwiila, 11500 Tomaiyowit, and 12711 Tukmit whose names honored Luiseño gods. Mueller also discovered 107 (9 listed as co-discoveries) supernovae.

Honors The inner main-belt asteroid of the Hungaria family, 4031 Mueller, was named in honor of Jean Mueller for her astronomical discoveries. Discovered on February 12, 1985, by Carolyn Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory with the 18" Schmidt Camera, it was originally designated 1985 CL. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 12 December 1989 (M.P.C. 15576).

Affiliations Jean Mueller is an Advisor of the Meade 4M Community who supports her outreach activities.

References

External links The Second Palomar Sky Survey, 1993

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Jean Mueller

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Jean Mueller 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 Jean Mueller 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 Jean Mueller 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 Jean Mueller

In research: Jean Mueller 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 Jean Mueller 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: Jean Mueller is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1950 births, 20th-century American astronomers, 20th-century American women scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Jean Mueller 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 Jean Mueller in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Jean Mueller in simple terms?

Jean Mueller (born 1950) is an American astronomer and discoverer of comets, minor planets, and a large number of supernovas at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California.

Why does Jean Mueller 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 Jean Mueller?

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 Jean Mueller.