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Noel Swerdlow

Noel Swerdlow 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 Noel Swerdlow rather than just read about it. In short: Noel Mark Swerdlow (9 September 1941 – 24 July 2021) was a professor emeritus of history, astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago. He was a visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Noel Mark Swerdlow (9 September 1941 – 24 July 2021) was a professor emeritus of history, astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago. He was a visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology.

Career Swerdlow specialized in the history of exact sciences, astronomy in particular, from antiquity through the 17th century. He earned his Ph.D. at Yale University in 1968; his doctoral dissertation, Ptolemy's Theory of the Distances and Sizes of the Planets: A Study of The Scientific Foundations of Medieval Cosmology, was supervised by Asger Aaboe.

Publications The Derivation and First Draft of Copernicus's Planetary Theory: A Translation of the Commentariolus with Commentary by Noel M. Swerdlow in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Vol. 117, No. 6, Symposium on Copernicus (Dec. 31, 1973), pp. 423–512 (90 pages) In 1984, Swerdlow, with co-author Otto E. Neugebauer, published Mathematical Astronomy in Copernicus’ De Revolutionibus, Springer. ISBN 978-1-4613-8262-1 a two volume investigation of the sources and methods of that pivotal work in the development of astronomy that first laid out a heliocentric theory of the Solar System. The Babylonian Theory of the Planets by N. M. Swerdlow | Princeton University Press | 1998 | ISBN 9780691605500 Otto E. Neugebauer 1899–1990 A Biographical Memoir by N. M. Swerdlow published by the National Academies Press for the National Academy of Sciences | 1998 An essay on Thomas Kuhn's First Scientific Revolution, "The Copernican Revolution" in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Vol. 148, No. 1, March 2004 (pp. 64-120) In 1988 Swerdlow received the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, often referred to as the "genius grant." In the same year he published the book The Babylonian Theory of the Planets (Princeton University Press). In 1988 he was also elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the United States, dating to 1743.

See also On Sizes and Distances (Hipparchus)

References

External links Guide to the Noel M. Swerdlow Collection 1967-1971 at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Noel Swerdlow

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Noel Swerdlow 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 Noel Swerdlow 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 Noel Swerdlow 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 Noel Swerdlow

In research
Noel Swerdlow 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 Noel Swerdlow 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
Noel Swerdlow is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1941 births, 2021 deaths, 20th-century American astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Noel Swerdlow 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 Noel Swerdlow in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Noel Swerdlow means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Noel Swerdlow out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Noel Swerdlow in simple terms?

Noel Mark Swerdlow (9 September 1941 – 24 July 2021) was a professor emeritus of history, astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Chicago. He was a visiting professor at the California Institute of Technology.

Why does Noel Swerdlow 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 Noel Swerdlow?

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 Noel Swerdlow.

Tags

  • 1941 births
  • 2021 deaths
  • 20th-century American astronomers
  • 20th-century American historians
  • 20th-century American male writers
  • 21st-century American astronomers
  • 21st-century American historians
  • 21st-century American male writers
  • American historians of science
  • American male non-fiction writers
  • American science historian stubs
  • California Institute of Technology faculty

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