biology

Margaret Turnbull

Margaret Turnbull is a biology 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 Turnbull rather than just read about it. In short: Margaret Carol "Maggie" Turnbull (born 1975) is an American astronomer and astrobiologist. She received her PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 2004.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Margaret Carol "Maggie" Turnbull (born 1975) is an American astronomer and astrobiologist. She received her PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 2004. Between 2001 and 2006 she was a part of the Virtual Planetary Laboratory. Turnbull is an authority on star systems which may have habitable planets, solar twins and planetary habitability. Turnbull is also an expert on the use of the coronagraph in the direct detection of exoplanets. In 2002, she helped develop the HabCat with Jill Tarter, a catalog of potentially habitable stellar systems. The following year Turnbull went on to further identify 30 particularly suitable stars from the 5,000 in the HabCat list that are within 100 light years of Earth. In 2006, Turnbull drew up two shortlists of just five stars each. The first formed the basis of SETI radio searches with the Allen Telescope Array (Beta Canum Venaticorum, HD 10307, HD 211415, 18 Scorpii, and 51 Pegasi). The second are her top candidates for the Terrestrial Planet Finder (Epsilon Indi, Epsilon Eridani, 40 Eridani, Alpha Centauri B, and Tau Ceti). Turnbull's work has continued to be an integral component in the search for life in the universe and she regularly contributes to the discussion on how life is defined and strategies for its detection. Her previous work on target selection with the HabCat list and expertise with coronagraphs have made her an important advocate for direct exoplanet imaging missions, and she served as Science Team Leader for the New Worlds Mission. In 2016, Turnbull became a leader of a Science Investigation Team for the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (renamed the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope), which is simulating mission data and selecting targets for the direct imaging exoplanet searches. In 2017, Turnbull worked with Stephen Kane to place constraints on the mass of Proxima Centauri b, the nearest exoplanet to the Solar System. Asteroid 7863 Turnbull, discovered by Brian A. Skiff at Anderson Mesa Station in 1981, was named in her honor. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on September 28, 1999 (M.P.C. 36127).

Politics In 2018, Turnbull ran for the office of Governor of Wisconsin as an independent, along with running mate Wil Losch. Turnbull received 18,779 votes (0.7%), and finished in fourth place.

References

External links "Margaret Turnbull personal page at University of Arizona". Archived from the original on March 2, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2012. Turnbull, Margaret. "TARGET SELECTION FOR SETI. I. A CATALOG OF NEARBY HABITABLE STELLAR SYSTEMS" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. pp. 181–198. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 9, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2012. Turnbull, Margaret (2004). "THE SEARCH FOR HABITABLE WORLDS: FROM THE TERRESTRIAL PLANET FINDER TO SETI" (PDF). PhD Thesis. University of Arizona, Department of Astronomy. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 22, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2012.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Margaret Turnbull

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Margaret Turnbull claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, 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 Turnbull 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 Turnbull 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 Turnbull

In research: Margaret Turnbull appears in biology 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 Turnbull 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 Turnbull is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1975 births, 21st-century American women, American astrobiologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Margaret Turnbull 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 Turnbull in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Margaret Turnbull in simple terms?

Margaret Carol "Maggie" Turnbull (born 1975) is an American astronomer and astrobiologist. She received her PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 2004.

Why does Margaret Turnbull matter?

Because it connects several biology 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 Turnbull?

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 Turnbull.