astronomy

Margaret Mayall

Margaret Mayall 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 Margaret Mayall rather than just read about it. In short: Margaret Walton Mayall (January 27, 1902 – December 6, 1995) was an American astronomer. She was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1949 to 1973.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Margaret Walton Mayall (January 27, 1902 – December 6, 1995) was an American astronomer. She was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1949 to 1973.

Early life and education Mayall (born Margaret Lyle Walton) was born in Iron Hill, Maryland, on January 27, 1902. The northern lights and Halley's comet in 1910 are stated to have stimulated her interest in astronomy at a young age. She attended the University of Delaware, where her interest in astronomy grew after taking math and chemistry courses. She then moved to Swarthmore College, where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics in 1925. She earned an MA in astronomy from Radcliffe College, Harvard University, in 1928 and worked as a research assistant and astronomer at Harvard College Observatory from 1924 to 1954, initially working with Annie Jump Cannon on classifying star spectra and estimating star brightness. During this time, she would spend summers working with Margaret Hardwood of the Maria Mitchell Observatory in Nantucket, MA, where she became interested in researching variable stars. She was a research staff member at the Heat Research Laboratory, Special Weapons Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1943 to 1946.

Personal life While working in Nantucket, she met Robert Newton Mayall, a member of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), and would marry in 1927. They co-wrote several books on sundial and other subjects while working with the Ernst Sundial Collection of Harvard. She died of congestive heart failure in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 6 December 1995.

Awards In 1957, she was the recipient of the G. Bruce Blair Gold Medal from the Western Amateur Society. In 1958, she won the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy. In 1982, a minor planet was named, 3342 Fivesparks, in honor of her and her husband's home in Cambridge.

References

Further reading Williams, Thomas R.; Saladyga, Michael (2011). Advancing Variable Star Astronomy: The Centennial History of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-49634-6.

External links Letters at the AAVSO Oral history interview with Margaret Mayall on 11 August 1986, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Session I Oral history interview with Margaret Mayall on 12 September 1986, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives - Session II The Harold C. Ernst Collection of Portable Sundials

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Margaret Mayall

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Margaret Mayall 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 Margaret Mayall 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 Margaret Mayall 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 Margaret Mayall

In research: Margaret Mayall 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 Margaret Mayall 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: Margaret Mayall is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1902 births, 1995 deaths, 20th-century American scientists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Margaret Mayall 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 Margaret Mayall in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Margaret Mayall in simple terms?

Margaret Walton Mayall (January 27, 1902 – December 6, 1995) was an American astronomer. She was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) from 1949 to 1973.

Why does Margaret Mayall 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 Margaret Mayall?

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 Margaret Mayall.