astronomy

Phyllis Hayford Hutchings

Phyllis Hayford Hutchings 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 Phyllis Hayford Hutchings rather than just read about it. In short: Phyllis Hayford Hutchings (May 18, 1904 – July 7, 1965) was an American astronomer, engineer, and college professor. She taught astronomy at Rollins College in Florida, and at Whitman College in Washington.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Phyllis Hayford Hutchings (May 18, 1904 – July 7, 1965) was an American astronomer, engineer, and college professor. She taught astronomy at Rollins College in Florida, and at Whitman College in Washington.

Early life and education Hayford was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of John Fillmore Hayford and Lucy Dalzell Stone Hayford. Her father was director of the College of Engineering at Northwestern University. She earned a degree in civil engineering from Northwestern University in 1926, and earned a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1932. Her dissertation was titled "The Galactic Rotation Effect in Open Clusters".

Career Hayford worked at Lick Observatory from 1926 to 1937, in various positions, including assistant to Donald Howard Menzel, computer and research fellow. Her work their often involved calculating the orbits of comets. She taught astronomy at Rollins College in Florida from 1935 to 1943, and at Whitman College in Washington from 1947 until her death in 1965. She also spoke to school and community groups about astronomy topics.

Publications "A Brilliant Meteor" (1927) "Elements and ephemeris of Minor Planet 1929 PA" (1930, with Charlotte E. Moore) "Elements and ephemeris of Comet D 1930 (Schwassmann-Wachmann)" (1930, with Claude M. Anderson Jr.) "Observations of Comet B 1929 (Neujmin) and of minor planets" (1930, with C. J. Krieger, N. T. Bobrovnikoff, F. L. Whipple, and Charlotte E. Moore) "A study of galactic rotation with special reference to the radial velocities of the galactic star clusters" (1932) "Occultation of an 8.9 Magnitude Star by Jupiter" (1933) "Observations of Eros made at the Lick Observatory during the opposition of 1931, with a preliminary determination of the solar parallax" (1937, with R. J. Trumpler, F. J. Neubauer, C. E. Smith, and K. P. Kaster)

Personal life Hayford married mathematician William Lawrence Hutchings in 1934; they had a daughter, Lucy, born in 1938. Phyllis Hutchings died in 1965, at the age of 61, while she was teaching a summer course in Lawrence, Kansas.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Phyllis Hayford Hutchings

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Phyllis Hayford Hutchings 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 Phyllis Hayford Hutchings 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 Phyllis Hayford Hutchings 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 Phyllis Hayford Hutchings

In research: Phyllis Hayford Hutchings 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 Phyllis Hayford Hutchings 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: Phyllis Hayford Hutchings is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1904 births, 1965 deaths, American astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Phyllis Hayford Hutchings 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 Phyllis Hayford Hutchings in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Phyllis Hayford Hutchings in simple terms?

Why does Phyllis Hayford Hutchings 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 Phyllis Hayford Hutchings?

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 Phyllis Hayford Hutchings.