astronomy

Stephen J. Edberg

Stephen J. Edberg 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 Stephen J. Edberg rather than just read about it. In short: Stephen J. Edberg (born 1952) is a retired scientist formerly at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Stephen J. Edberg (born 1952) is a retired scientist formerly at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is known for promoting collaborative efforts between amateur and professional astronomers. A professional astronomer since 1970, Edberg still considers himself to be an active amateur astronomer as well and is an active astronomical observer, photographer, and telescope maker. His pre-retirement career closed serving as staff astronomer for the Solar System Exploration website posted by NASA Headquarters and as staff scientist for earth science communication and for exoplanet Exploration communication. During his college (University of California, Santa Cruz) and graduate school (University of California, San Diego and UCLA) years, he observed the Sun at observatories in Colorado, Arizona, California, Hawaii, and New Mexico, studying magnetic fields in active regions, prominences, and the solar corona. He also investigated extragalactic objects from Siding Spring Observatory and the Australian National Radio Astronomy Observatory. He began working full-time at San Fernando Observatory in 1978 before moving to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1979. While a project Investigation Scientist at JPL, he has worked on Galileo, Cassini, Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby, and also as System Scientist and Science Office Manager on the Space Interferometry Mission. His experience includes the science aspects of a space project from early development through flight operations. He has specified science requirements for spacecraft early in the design phase, coordinated competing science investigations during the planning stages, and has planned and prepared instruction sets for measurements executed by robotic spacecraft in flight. Edberg organized and led the Amateur Observation Network of NASA’s International Halley Watch (IHW). He was responsible for engaging the amateur community, creating a guide on how to make scientific observations and standardized forms for submitting data, and publishing the data acquired by the amateur community. Until his retirement from the organization in 2014, Edberg served as Executive Director of non-profit Riverside Telescope Makers Conference, Inc., leading the team that brings the annual RTMC Astronomy Expo, held each May in Big Bear, California, to hundreds of amateur astronomers from across the western USA and beyond from 1993-2014. Edberg has a strong interest in bringing astronomy into the classroom and has published numerous classroom activities related to planetary science, space science, and astronomy. This includes NASA Educational Briefs and other activities found at Practical Uses of Math and Science. Edberg is also a credentialed part-time vocational teacher in Aerospace Studies in California, having taught astronomy at La Cañada High School for about 20 years starting in 1993. Edberg’s photography, research, instruments, and writing have appeared in Solar Physics, The Astrophysical Journal, Space Science Reviews, and in other professional journals, NASA Facts, and in Sky and Telescope, Astronomy, Telescope Making, Griffith Observer, Sky and Space, Journal of the British Astronomical Association, Weather, Rangefinder, and other periodicals, and in several books including Collins’ how to identify Night Sky, Wild Guide Night Sky, Collins Guide to the Night Sky, and Gem Weather Photoguide. He co-authored with David H. Levy Observing Comets, Asteroids, Meteors, and the Zodiacal Light, published by Cambridge University Press. In 1987 he was honored by the International Astronomical Union with the naming of Minor planet 3672 Stevedberg (1985 QQ) for his long commitment in bringing amateur and professional astronomers together. The citation was prepared by David H. Levy at the request of the discoverer Edward Bowell of Lowell Observatory. Edberg has been awarded a NASA Exceptional Service Medal and JPL Award for Excellence for his work in outreach. Carter Observatory in New Zealand named him Carter Memorial Lecturer in 2001 and he was an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Distinguished Lecturer from 1996-2003.

References

External links The NASA/JPL SIM PlanetQuest Website Asteroid 3672 Stevedberg on the JPL Small-Body Database Browser

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stephen J. Edberg

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stephen J. Edberg 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 Stephen J. Edberg 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 Stephen J. Edberg 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 Stephen J. Edberg

In research: Stephen J. Edberg 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 Stephen J. Edberg 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: Stephen J. Edberg is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1952 births, 20th-century American astronomers, 21st-century American astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stephen J. Edberg 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 Stephen J. Edberg in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Stephen J. Edberg in simple terms?

Stephen J. Edberg (born 1952) is a retired scientist formerly at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Why does Stephen J. Edberg 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 Stephen J. Edberg?

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 Stephen J. Edberg.