astronomy

María Luisa Aguilar

María Luisa Aguilar 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 María Luisa Aguilar rather than just read about it. In short: María Luisa Aguilar Hurtado (20 June 1938 – 29 October 2015) was a Peruvian astronomer, the first professional one of Peru. She studied at the Institute of Mathematics and Physics of the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

María Luisa Aguilar Hurtado (20 June 1938 – 29 October 2015) was a Peruvian astronomer, the first professional one of Peru. She studied at the Institute of Mathematics and Physics of the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru. She graduated as an astronomer from the National University of La Plata, Argentina. In 1981, motivated to develop astronomy at a professional level, she founded and served as director of the "Astronomy and Astrophysics Seminar", nowadays called "Permanent Astronomy and Space Sciences Seminar" of the National University of San Marcos.

Biography She was born in Jauja, the city where she lived during her first three years. Her primary and secondary studies were carried out in Lima, in the Elvira García y García Mayor School Unit. In 1958 she entered the School of Mathematics of the National University of San Marcos. She traveled to Argentina to study astronomy at the Astronomy and Geophysics Observatory of the National University of La Plata; there was no such professional specialty in Peru during that time. She specialized in astronomical spectroscopy, stellar atmospheres, and variable stars. In 1969, she returned to Peru and began teaching at the National University of Engineering and at the National University of San Marcos. In those first years, she created the "Astronomical Fridays", a space for the dissemination of astronomy that has remained until today, becoming the oldest series of uninterrupted talks and conferences in the history of Peru. In 1981, Maria Aguilar founded the Astronomy and Astrophysics Seminar, renamed in 2001 as the Permanent Astronomy and Space Sciences Seminar - SPACE. In 1982 she was recognized as a Member of the International Astronomical Union, being part of commission 46 Astronomy Education and Development, and commission C1 WG Network for Astronomy School Education (NASE). In January 1984, she promoted and managed the "San Marcos - International Astronomical Union agreement", enabling the first Visiting Lecturer Program of the International Astronomical Union in Peru. In 1985, she coordinated the arrival of doctors José Luis Sérsic, Argentine, and specialist in galaxies, Josip Kleczek, Czech, Sun scholar, and Jorge Sahade, first Latin American president of the International Astronomical Union. She was an enthusiastic collaborator in science and astronomy topics in Sunday's supplement of the Peruvian newspaper "El Comercio" between 1999 and 2000. As part of the global activities for the celebrations of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, she was designated as "Single Point of Contact" between Peru and the International Astronomical Union, promoting and participating in a series of activities of education and outreach in Peru for that year, such as the "Astronomical Fridays", "Itinerant Telescope", the "Galileo Teacher Training Program" and "Galileo Mobile", among others. Aguilar was the promoter of the San Marcos Astronomical Observatory for Education and Tourism Project in Maranganí, Cusco, which was inaugurated after her death in 2016. In her last years, she was the host of the program "Culture, Science and Technology" on Radio Cielo, and "Science and Culture", on the program "Faces of Culture", on Juan 19 TV. Maria Aguilar was portrayed as one of the main characters of the theater play "Our great adventure in science" directed by Rocio Lino and written by Paola Vicente Chocano. Aguilar died on June 20, 2015, at the age of 77.

Honors and affiliations Past Member of Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage, IAU (until 2015) Past Member of Commission C1 Astronomy Education and Development, IAU (2015) Past Member of Commission 46 Astronomy Education & Development, IAU (until 2015) Past Member of Commission C1 WG Network for Astronomy School Education (NASE), IAU (2015) Past Member of Division XII Union-Wide Activities, IAU (until 2012) Medal of Honor "José Antonio Encinas", awarded by the Magisterial Derrama (2010)

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with María Luisa Aguilar

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what María Luisa Aguilar 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 María Luisa Aguilar 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 María Luisa Aguilar 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 María Luisa Aguilar

In research: María Luisa Aguilar 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 María Luisa Aguilar 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: María Luisa Aguilar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1938 births, 2015 deaths, 20th-century women scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for María Luisa Aguilar 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 María Luisa Aguilar in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is María Luisa Aguilar in simple terms?

Why does María Luisa Aguilar 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 María Luisa Aguilar?

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 María Luisa Aguilar.