astronomy

Leslie Peltier

Leslie Peltier 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 Leslie Peltier rather than just read about it. In short: Leslie Copus Peltier (January 2, 1900 – May 10, 1980) was an American amateur astronomer and discoverer of several comets and novae, including Nova Herculis 1963. He was once described as "the world's greatest non-professional astronomer" by Harlow Shapley.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Leslie Copus Peltier (January 2, 1900 – May 10, 1980) was an American amateur astronomer and discoverer of several comets and novae, including Nova Herculis 1963. He was once described as "the world's greatest non-professional astronomer" by Harlow Shapley.

Biography Leslie Copus Peltier was born in Delphos, Ohio. Delphos is located in northwestern Ohio in both Van Wert and Allen County. His homeplace was located on South Bredeick Street, and his home is still standing today. The home was known as Brookhaven. Peltier married Dorothy Nihiser in November 1933. An amateur astronomer, he was a prolific discoverer of comets and also a persistent observer of variable stars and member of the AAVSO. He was co-discoverer of 12 comets, 10 of which carry his name, and over a span of more than 60 years made more than 132,000 variable star observations. He wrote the autobiographical Starlight Nights (ISBN 0-933346-94-8), which evokes the magic of stargazing in simpler days, on a farm and without light pollution. Main-belt asteroid 3850 Peltier is named in his honor, as is the Leslie C. Peltier Award of the Astronomical League.

Publications Peltier authored the following books:

Starlight Nights: The Adventures of a Star-Gazer (1965); also published in Japanese as Hoshi No Kuru Yoru (1985) Guideposts to the Stars: Exploring the Skies Throughout the Year (1972); also published in Dutch as Spectrum Sterrengids (1976) and as Prisma Sterrengids (1979) The Place on Jennings Creek (1977) Leslie Peltier's Guide to the Stars (1986) The Binocular Stargazer: A Beginner's Guide to Exploring the Sky (1995)

References

External links Leslie C. Peltier at the AAVSO Obituary in JAVSO 9 (1980) 32

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leslie Peltier

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leslie Peltier 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 Leslie Peltier 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 Leslie Peltier 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 Leslie Peltier

In research: Leslie Peltier 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 Leslie Peltier 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: Leslie Peltier is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1900 births, 1980 deaths, 20th-century American people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leslie Peltier 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 Leslie Peltier in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Leslie Peltier in simple terms?

Why does Leslie Peltier 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 Leslie Peltier?

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 Leslie Peltier.