astronomy

Martha Locke Hazen

Martha Locke Hazen 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 Martha Locke Hazen rather than just read about it. In short: Martha Locke Hazen (15 July 1931- 23 December 2006) was an American astronomer, best known for her contributions as curator of the Harvard astronomical photographs collection and her work on variable stars. Early life and education Martha Locke Hazen was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up in Belmont.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Early life and education Martha Locke Hazen was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up in Belmont. In 1953, she graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in astronomy. She went on to complete her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1958. Her thesis foscused on how the intensities of elliptical galaxies within the Virgo cluster were distributed.

Research and career Martha was a research fellow at Harvard College Observatory, observing in Chile for 3 weeks every year. In 1969, she became the curator of astronomical photographs at Harvard where she was responsible for the Harvard Plate Archives and she assumed this role until her retirement in 2002. She was also had a leadership role in improving the status of women in university life at Harvard, serving as the Harvard College Observatory representative on Harvard's committee dedicated to this. As part of her role she helped organise the first Space for Women conference in 1975. Additionally, she helped remove gender bias from the bylaws of American Astronomical Society. Martha joined the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) in 1975 and was elected as a member of the AAVSO council in 1984. She acted as a vice president before becoming president of the association in 1992. She went on to take the role of secretary in 1993 and remained in the role for 10 years. The Minor Planet Center at Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory named an asteroid (asteroid number: 10,024), Marthahazen, in recognition of Martha's contributions to astronomy.

Personal life Martha married William Liller in 1959 and they had two children together, John Liller and Hillary Ward. Martha and William divorced in 1982 and she married her second husband Bruce McHenry in 1991.

Awards 37th AAVSO Merit Award.

Notable publications Martha L Hazen; James M Nemen. (July 1992). " Variable Stars Within 25 Arcmin of the LMC Globular Cluster NGC 2210". Astronomical Journal. 104: 111. doi: 10.1086/116224 M L Hazen-Liller. (September 1985). "The variable stars in the field of the globular cluster NGC 6569". Astronomical Journal. 90: 1807–1811.doi:10.1086/113881

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Martha Locke Hazen

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Martha Locke Hazen 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 Martha Locke Hazen 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 Martha Locke Hazen 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 Martha Locke Hazen

In research: Martha Locke Hazen 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 Martha Locke Hazen 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: Martha Locke Hazen is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1931 births, 2006 deaths, 20th-century American astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Martha Locke Hazen 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 Martha Locke Hazen in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Martha Locke Hazen in simple terms?

Martha Locke Hazen (15 July 1931- 23 December 2006) was an American astronomer, best known for her contributions as curator of the Harvard astronomical photographs collection and her work on variable stars. Early life and education Martha Locke Hazen was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up…

Why does Martha Locke Hazen 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 Martha Locke Hazen?

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 Martha Locke Hazen.