astronomy

LHS 2520

LHS 2520 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 LHS 2520 rather than just read about it. In short: LHS 2520, also known as GJ 3707, is a red dwarf star in the constellation Corvus. With an apparent magnitude of 12.12, it is too faint to be seen with the unaided eye.

Key takeaways

LHS 2520 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect LHS 2520 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of LHS 2520 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

LHS 2520, also known as GJ 3707, is a red dwarf star in the constellation Corvus. With an apparent magnitude of 12.12, it is too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. A cool star of spectral type M3.5V, it has a surface temperature of 3024 K. The star was too faint to have had its parallax measured by the Hipparcos satellite. Measurement by Gaia gives its parallax as 81.57±0.04 milliarcseconds, yielding a distance of 40 light-years (12 parsecs).

In popular culture In Action Comics #14 (January 2013), which was published 7 November 2012, Neil Degrasse Tyson appears in the story, in which he determines that Superman's home planet, Krypton, orbited LHS 2520. Tyson assisted DC Comics in selecting a real-life star that would be an appropriate parent star to Krypton, and picked the star in Corvus, since Superman's high school sports team is the Smallville Crows. The star also appears as LP 734-32 in the 2014 game, Elite Dangerous.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with LHS 2520

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what LHS 2520 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 LHS 2520 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 LHS 2520 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 LHS 2520

In research: LHS 2520 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 LHS 2520 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: LHS 2520 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Corvus (constellation), Gliese and GJ objects, M-type main-sequence stars, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for LHS 2520 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 LHS 2520 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what LHS 2520 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 LHS 2520 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is LHS 2520 in simple terms?

LHS 2520, also known as GJ 3707, is a red dwarf star in the constellation Corvus. With an apparent magnitude of 12.12, it is too faint to be seen with the unaided eye.

Why does LHS 2520 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 LHS 2520?

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 LHS 2520.