astronomy

Ken Croswell

Ken Croswell 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 Ken Croswell rather than just read about it. In short: Ken Croswell is an American astronomer and writer. His first degree, from Washington University in St.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Ken Croswell is an American astronomer and writer. His first degree, from Washington University in St. Louis, mixed science and wider interests, majoring in physics and minoring in English literature. He also got a PhD in astronomy from Harvard University for studying the Milky Way's halo. He is primarily known as a writer on astronomy and space topics. He has written regularly the New Scientist, New York Times and various magazines in the popular science press. He is also the author of six books on astronomy, including The Alchemy of the Heavens and Planet Quest, and often reports on the radio program the John Batchelor Show.

Publications

Books Croswell, Ken (1995). The alchemy of the heavens : searching for meaning in the Milky Way. New York: Anchor Books. ISBN 978-0-385-47213-5. — (1999). Planet quest : the epic discovery of alien solar systems. Oxford University Press.

Essays and reporting Croswell, Ken (April 2013). "Unravelling a Magellanic mystery". Scientific American. 308 (4): 8. Bibcode:2013SciAm.308d..16C. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0413-16. PMID 23539779. Retrieved 2015-04-27. — (April 2013). "Wanted : new worlds beyond Pluto". Scientific American. 308 (4): 13. Bibcode:2013SciAm.308d..25C. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0413-25a. Retrieved 2015-04-28. — (May 2013). "Tadpoles in space". Advances. Astronomy. Scientific American. 308 (5): 12. Bibcode:2013SciAm.308e..19C. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0513-19. PMID 23627208. Retrieved 2016-01-28.

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ken Croswell

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ken Croswell 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 Ken Croswell 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 Ken Croswell 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 Ken Croswell

In research: Ken Croswell 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 Ken Croswell 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: Ken Croswell is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 20th-century American astronomers, 21st-century American astronomers, American astronomer stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ken Croswell 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 Ken Croswell in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Ken Croswell in simple terms?

Ken Croswell is an American astronomer and writer. His first degree, from Washington University in St.

Why does Ken Croswell 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 Ken Croswell?

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 Ken Croswell.