astronomy

John Ellard Gore

John Ellard Gore 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 John Ellard Gore rather than just read about it. In short: John Ellard Gore (1 June 1845 – 18 July 1910) was an Irish amateur astronomer and prolific author, and a founding member of the British Astronomical Association. He was mainly interested in variable stars of which he discovered several, most notably W Cygni in 1884, U Orionis in 1885, and independently discovered Nova Persei.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

John Ellard Gore (1 June 1845 – 18 July 1910) was an Irish amateur astronomer and prolific author, and a founding member of the British Astronomical Association. He was mainly interested in variable stars of which he discovered several, most notably W Cygni in 1884, U Orionis in 1885, and independently discovered Nova Persei. In 2009, the IAU named a lunar impact crater after Gore.

Early life Gore was born in Athlone, County Westmeath, in 1845, the eldest son of the Venerable John Ribton Gore and Frances Brabazon Ellard. He had 3 brothers and one sister. The Gore family descended from Sir Paul Gore, 1st Baronet and John's great grandfather was Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet. He studied at Trinity College and received a diploma in Civil Engineering in 1865.

Professional career Gore worked as a railway engineer in Ireland for over two years before being appointed as an assistant engineer with the Indian Public Works Department on the Sirhind Canal project. In 1877 he returned to Ireland on two years leave of absence and lived in Ballysadare County Sligo with his father. In 1879, he retired after 11 years of service with a pension and after the death of his father in 1894, moved to Dublin where he spent the rest of his life devoted to astronomy.

Astronomy Gore had no formal training in astronomy, and began to study the sky while working in India. While there, he relied on his naked eyes, binoculars, a three-inch telescope and a ten centimeter telescope on an equatorial mount. His first book "Southern Stellar Objects for Small Telescopes" was published in India in 1877. On his return to Ireland in 1877, he used a three-inch telescope and binoculars. He set up an observatory in Sligo, and later set up at 3 Northumberland Street, Dublin. His greatest contribution was his studies of double and variable stars, and he published catalogues of variables and binary stars. Gore died on 18 July 1910 when struck by a horse and car whilst crossing Grafton St., Dublin.

Books Gore, John Ellard (1877). Southern Stellar Objects for Small Telescopes. Lodiana. p. 144. Gore, John Ellard (1888). Planetary and Stellar Studies. Roper & Drowley. p. 280. Gore, John Ellard (1890). Astronomical Lessons. Sutton, Drowley & Co. p. 150. Gore, John Ellard (1891). Star Groups. Crosby Lockwood & Son. p. 136. Gore, John Ellard (1893). The Visible Universe. Crosby Lockwood & Son. p. 472. Gore, John Ellard (1893). An Astronomical Glossary. Crosby Lockwood & Son. p. 210. Gore, John Ellard (1894). The Worlds of Space. A D Innes & Co. p. 376. Gore, John Ellard (1904). Studies in Astronomy. Chatto & Windus. p. 372. Gore, John Ellard (1907). Astronomical Essays. Chatto & Windus. p. 376. Gore, John Ellard (1909). Astronomical Curiosities. Chatto & Windus. p. 392.

Legacy In 2009, the IAU named a lunar impact crater located on the lunar near side near the northern pole after Gore.

References

External links Works by John Ellard Gore at Project Gutenberg Works by or about John Ellard Gore at the Internet Archive

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John Ellard Gore

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John Ellard Gore 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 John Ellard Gore 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 John Ellard Gore 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 John Ellard Gore

In research: John Ellard Gore 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 John Ellard Gore 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: John Ellard Gore is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1845 births, 1910 deaths, 19th-century British astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John Ellard Gore 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 John Ellard Gore in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is John Ellard Gore in simple terms?

Why does John Ellard Gore 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 John Ellard Gore?

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 John Ellard Gore.