astronomy

Paul D. Lowman

Paul D. Lowman 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 Paul D. Lowman rather than just read about it. In short: Paul D. Lowman (September 21, 1931 – September 29, 2011) was a geophysicist in the Geodynamics Branch of the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Paul D. Lowman (September 21, 1931 – September 29, 2011) was a geophysicist in the Geodynamics Branch of the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. Throughout his long career, he had worked in the fields of comparative planetology, geology, neotectonics, and remote sensing.

Education Lowman earned his B.S. degree in Geology from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1953 and earned his Ph.D. in geology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1963.

Career Lowman was one of the original scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He spent several years with the United States Army Ordnance Corps, and then became a field assistant with the United States Geological Survey. In 1959, he became “the first geologist hired by NASA.” At Goddard, he worked with John A. O'Keefe on the origin of tektites and pre-Apollo lunar geology. Lowman helped plan the early Apollo missions and later became involved in analyzing lunar samples and interpreting data from the Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 missions. He did early “comparative planetology,” researching what new information from the Moon and Mars could tell us about Earth. He is considered to be the father of Earth orbital photography which led to multispectral imaging of Earth and Landsat satellite imagery. Lowman's field work included research on ancient exposed rocks in Scotland and the Sudbury Crater in Ontario, Canada. In addition to his scientific achievements, he served in an educational capacity as a faculty member and mentor at a number of universities and programs throughout his long career.

Awards and honors Lowman received a number of awards and honors during his career, including NASA's Silver Snoopy Award in 1978, 40 Years of Federal Service Award in 1997, GSFC's Exceptional Achievement Award in 2003, and a NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2003.

Publications Lowman wrote a number of books and NASA documents including the following titles:

Lunar Panorama: A Photographic Guide to the Geology of the Moon Geologic Applications of Orbital Photography The Geologic Evolution of the Moon Exploring Space, Exploring Earth: New Understanding of the Earth from Space Research Space Panorama, 1.1.1968 - Earth Photographs taken by Astronauts of Mercury and Gemini missions

References

External links Paul Lowman: NASA’s 76-Year-Old Maverick

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul D. Lowman

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul D. Lowman 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 Paul D. Lowman 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 Paul D. Lowman 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 Paul D. Lowman

In research: Paul D. Lowman 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 Paul D. Lowman 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: Paul D. Lowman is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1931 births, 2011 deaths, American geologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul D. Lowman 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 Paul D. Lowman in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Paul D. Lowman in simple terms?

Why does Paul D. Lowman 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 Paul D. Lowman?

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 Paul D. Lowman.