astronomy

Paul McNally (astronomer)

Paul McNally (astronomer) 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 McNally (astronomer) rather than just read about it. In short: Paul A. McNally (October 14, 1890 – March 4, 1955) was an American astronomer, scientist, and Jesuit priest.

Key takeaways

Paul McNally (astronomer) 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 McNally (astronomer) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paul McNally (astronomer) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Paul A. McNally (October 14, 1890 – March 4, 1955) was an American astronomer, scientist, and Jesuit priest. He was also a Dean of the Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Early life McNally was born on October 14, 1890, in Philadelphia. He entered the Society of Jesus on August 12, 1908, and graduated from Woodstock College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1915 and a Master of Arts degree in 1917. From 1916 to 1920, McNally was a professor of mathematics at Boston College. In 1916, McNally and Boston College student Paul Gately revived the Boston College Eagles men's basketball team. McNally served as volunteer coach during the 1916–17 season, winning two of the team's five games. From 1917 to 1918, McNally also served as moderator of Boston College's Fulton Debate Society and in 1919 and 1920 he taught German. McNally left BC for Fordham University, where he taught mathematics and moderated the debate society. In 1921 he obtained a Ph.D. in astronomy at Fordham. In 1923 he was ordained at Woodstock College. In 1925 he earned the Doctor of Sacred Theology from Pontifical Gregorian University. He was elected to fellowship in the Royal Astronomical Society in 1929.

Director of Georgetown Observatory In 1925, McNally became the assistant director of the Georgetown Observatory. In 1928 he succeeded Rev. Edward C. Phillips, S.J., Ph.D. as the Observatory's director. McNally began work at Georgetown University with rather rudimentary equipment, observing occultations and searching for Herschel's fields using a 12" equatorial visual refractor. Thereafter, two 3" Ross-type astrographic cameras were added, and the focus of the Georgetown Observatory's research was on solar eclipses. McNally photographed the total eclipse at Fryeburg, Maine, in 1932, winning a commendation for that work at the annual meeting of the London Photographic Society. He participated in solar eclipse expeditions that were sponsored by the National Geographic Society in Siberia in 1936; in Canton Island in 1937; and in Patos, Brazil in 1940.

Administrator In 1942, McNally was made a Vice President of Georgetown University. After the outbreak of World War II, McNally was charged with coordinating all liaison efforts between the science departments at Georgetown University and the U.S. government, regarding the war effort. His success in that role resulted in his subsequent appointment as chief fund-raiser for a new university hospital at Georgetown in 1945. In 1946 McNally was appointed as the Georgetown University School of Medicine's Dean and Regent. That same year he was appointed the first director of the Georgetown University Medical Center.

Illness and death Father McNally developed symptomatic coronary artery disease in 1952, and had the first of several myocardial infarcts (heart attacks). He resigned his deanship and accepted the position of chairman of Georgetown's physics department. He was succeeded by Francis M. Forster. McNally died on March 4, 1955, at the age of 64, in the midst of a project to organize a graduate program in physics at Georgetown. The crater McNally on the Moon is named after him.

See also List of Jesuit scientists List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics

References

External links Paul A. McNally, SJ Papers at Georgetown University

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul McNally (astronomer)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul McNally (astronomer) 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 McNally (astronomer) 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 McNally (astronomer) 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 McNally (astronomer)

In research: Paul McNally (astronomer) 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 McNally (astronomer) 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 McNally (astronomer) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1890 births, 1955 deaths, 20th-century American Jesuits, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul McNally (astronomer) 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Paul McNally (astronomer)” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Paul McNally (astronomer) in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Paul McNally (astronomer) in simple terms?

Paul A. McNally (October 14, 1890 – March 4, 1955) was an American astronomer, scientist, and Jesuit priest.

Why does Paul McNally (astronomer) 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 McNally (astronomer)?

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 McNally (astronomer).