astronomy

Richard Hawley Tucker

Richard Hawley Tucker 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 Richard Hawley Tucker rather than just read about it. In short: Richard Hawley Tucker (October 29, 1859 – March 31, 1952) was an American astronomer. Biography He was born in Wiscasset, Maine, to a ship-owning and seafaring family.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Richard Hawley Tucker (October 29, 1859 – March 31, 1952) was an American astronomer.

Biography He was born in Wiscasset, Maine, to a ship-owning and seafaring family. After a brief stint at sea starting at age 14, he attended Lehigh University, where he studied civil engineering but became interested in the study of astronomy. He graduated in 1879 and became an assistant at Dudley Observatory. He remained there for four years, and briefly worked with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. In 1883 he joined Lehigh as an instructor of mathematics and astronomy. A year later he was offered a position with the Argentine National Observatory, where he would assist in a survey of the southern night sky. He remained there for nine years, then joined the staff of Lick Observatory in 1893. He remained at Lick until 1908, operating the Meridian Circle program to make precise measurements of star positions. In 1908 he would travel to San Luis, Argentina as part of an expedition to measure the positions of stars in the southern part of the sky. These measurements were to be incorporated into a catalog for Dudley Observatory. During his time there he made 20,800 observations of stars. That same year, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society. After his work in Argentina, he returned to Lick Observatory. In 1914 he married Ruth Standen, a secretary at Lick. He remained at the observatory until he retired in 1926, when he became Astronomer Emeritus. He spent his retirement years in Palo Alto, California. During his career he published fifty three scientific articles. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and a grandson.

Awards and honors Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Lehigh University, 1922. The crater Tucker on the Moon is named after him.

References

Sanford, R. F., 1953, Richard Hawley Tucker, 1859-1952, Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 65, No. 382.

External links Richard Hawley Tucker, 1859-1952 from Lehigh University Photographs of Richard Hawley Tucker from the Lick Observatory Records Digital Archive, UC Santa Cruz Library's Digital Collections Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Richard Hawley Tucker

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Richard Hawley Tucker 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 Richard Hawley Tucker 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 Richard Hawley Tucker 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 Richard Hawley Tucker

In research: Richard Hawley Tucker 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 Richard Hawley Tucker 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: Richard Hawley Tucker is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1859 births, 1952 deaths, American astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Richard Hawley Tucker 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 Richard Hawley Tucker in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Richard Hawley Tucker in simple terms?

Richard Hawley Tucker (October 29, 1859 – March 31, 1952) was an American astronomer. Biography He was born in Wiscasset, Maine, to a ship-owning and seafaring family.

Why does Richard Hawley Tucker 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 Richard Hawley Tucker?

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 Richard Hawley Tucker.