astronomy

Rolf Brahde

Rolf Brahde 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 Rolf Brahde rather than just read about it. In short: Carl Rolf Brahde (15 March 1918 – 25 May 2009) was a Norwegian astronomer. He was born in Tvedestrand as Carl Rolf Henriksen.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Carl Rolf Brahde (15 March 1918 – 25 May 2009) was a Norwegian astronomer. He was born in Tvedestrand as Carl Rolf Henriksen. He was the son of teacher Bredo Henriksen (1888–1974) and Edna Lucy Brahde Davidsen (1891–1967). He changed his last name to Brahde in 1933. He finished his secondary education in Skien in 1937, and enrolled at the University of Oslo in the same year. His studies were interrupted by World War II. He fought in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, and during the subsequent German occupation of Norway he was a member of the clandestine resistance group XU. He was eventually discovered, but fled to Sweden in 1944. He was decorated with the Defence Medal 1940 – 1945. He continued his studies in Stockholm, and was an assistant for Bertil Lindblad at Stockholm Observatory from 1944 to 1946. He then returned to Norway and graduated with the cand.real. degree. He was married to Luisa Aall Barricelli, a daughter of Marna Aall and professor Maurizio Barricelli, from 1948 to 1961. Brahde married stenographer Elsie Unn Axelsen in 1963. Already one year after graduating, in 1948, Brahde was hired as observer at the University of Oslo. In this position, he was responsible for the construction of Harestua Solar Observatory north of Oslo. He lectured in celestial mechanics and spherical astronomy, and also researched optics related to astronomical instruments as well as calculating the tidal force and the lunar eclipse. He pioneered the use of computers in astronomy in Norway. He also published popular science books and articles, he was a common guest in radio and television programmes and provided commentary for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation during the television coverage of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. He was promoted to professor in 1987, but retired when reaching the age limit of 70 in 1988. He was a professor emeritus for the rest of his life. He continued doing the calculations for the official Norwegian almanac until 1991, having started in 1967. During this entire period the almanac was edited by Eberhart Jensen. Brahde lived at Haslum. He died in May 2009.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rolf Brahde

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rolf Brahde 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 Rolf Brahde 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 Rolf Brahde 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 Rolf Brahde

In research: Rolf Brahde 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 Rolf Brahde 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: Rolf Brahde is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1918 births, 2009 deaths, Academic staff of the University of Oslo, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rolf Brahde 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 Rolf Brahde in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Rolf Brahde in simple terms?

Carl Rolf Brahde (15 March 1918 – 25 May 2009) was a Norwegian astronomer. He was born in Tvedestrand as Carl Rolf Henriksen.

Why does Rolf Brahde 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 Rolf Brahde?

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 Rolf Brahde.