astronomy

Rupert Wildt

Rupert Wildt 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 Rupert Wildt rather than just read about it. In short: Rupert Wildt (; June 25, 1905 – January 9, 1976) was an American astronomer. He was born in Munich, Germany, and grew up in that country during World War I and its aftermath.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Rupert Wildt (; June 25, 1905 – January 9, 1976) was an American astronomer. He was born in Munich, Germany, and grew up in that country during World War I and its aftermath. In 1927 he was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Berlin. He joined the University of Göttingen, specializing in the properties of atmospheres. In 1932 he studied the spectra of Jupiter, and other outer planets, and identified certain absorption bands as belonging to the hydrogen-rich compounds of methane and ammonia. The composition appeared consistent with a composition similar to the sun and other stars. Assuming that the atmosphere was composed of these gases, during the 1940s and 1950s he constructed a model of the structure of these planets. He believed the core of the planets is solid and composed of a mixture of rock and metal, covered by a thick outer shell of ice, overlaid by a dense atmosphere. His model is still widely accepted. In 1934 he emigrated to the United States, and became a research assistant at Princeton University from 1937 until 1942. He then became an assistant professor at the University of Virginia until 1947, before joining the faculty of the Yale University. In 1937 he proposed that the atmosphere of Venus was composed of a mist of formaldehyde. His observations of the atmosphere did not find any water at the time, but later balloon-based measurements did show water in the atmosphere and so his proposal was abandoned. In 1940, however, he also hypothesized that the carbon dioxide in the Venusian atmosphere trapped heat , a phenomenon later called the greenhouse effect. In 1939 he demonstrated that the major source of optical opacity in the Sun's atmosphere is the H− ion, and thus the main source of visible light for the Sun and stars. From 1965 until 1968 he was president of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy. In the period 1966-1968 he also held the post of the chairman of the department of astronomy at Yale, and from 1973 until his death he was professor emeritus. He died in Orleans, Massachusetts.

Awards and honors Awarded the Eddington Medal in 1966 Asteroid 1953 Rupertwildt is named after him The crater Wildt on the Moon is named after him

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rupert Wildt

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rupert Wildt 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 Rupert Wildt 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 Rupert Wildt 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 Rupert Wildt

In research: Rupert Wildt 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 Rupert Wildt 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: Rupert Wildt is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1905 births, 1976 deaths, 20th-century American astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rupert Wildt 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 Rupert Wildt in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Rupert Wildt in simple terms?

Rupert Wildt (; June 25, 1905 – January 9, 1976) was an American astronomer. He was born in Munich, Germany, and grew up in that country during World War I and its aftermath.

Why does Rupert Wildt 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 Rupert Wildt?

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 Rupert Wildt.