astronomy

Stuart Kingsley

Stuart Kingsley 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 Stuart Kingsley rather than just read about it. In short: Stuart Kingsley (born May 15, 1948, in Stoke Newington, London, England) is considered a pioneer in the Optical Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence, also known as Optical SETI (OSETI). While traditional SETI efforts survey the sky in hopes of finding radio transmissions from a nearby civilization, the optical approach to SETI seeks to detect pulsed and continuous wave laser beacons signals in the visible and in…

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Stuart Kingsley (born May 15, 1948, in Stoke Newington, London, England) is considered a pioneer in the Optical Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence, also known as Optical SETI (OSETI). While traditional SETI efforts survey the sky in hopes of finding radio transmissions from a nearby civilization, the optical approach to SETI seeks to detect pulsed and continuous wave laser beacons signals in the visible and infrared spectrums. In other words, instead of "listening" for extraterrestrial intelligence, Optical SETI "looks" for it. Kingsley received a B.Sc. Honors and Ph.D. in electronic and electrical engineering from The City University (London, England), and University College London, England in 1972 and 1984, respectively. He moved to the United States in 1981 and went to work for Battelle Columbus Division as a principal research scientist, becoming a senior research scientist in 1985. He left Battelle in 1987 and established his own photonics consultancy business, Fiberdyne Optoelectronics. Kingsley is the Director of The Columbus Optical SETI Observatory, which is currently working to achieve nonprofit status. Since 1992 he has been the VP for Engineering at SRICO, Inc. Kingsley retired from Srico, Inc. and returned to England in 2008, meaning that the Columbus Optical SETI Observatory has effectively moved to Bournemouth.

External links Introduction to the COSETI The SETI League's Optical SETI Committee Chair The Bournemouth Optical SETI Observatory

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Stuart Kingsley

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Stuart Kingsley 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 Stuart Kingsley 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 Stuart Kingsley 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 Stuart Kingsley

In research: Stuart Kingsley 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 Stuart Kingsley 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: Stuart Kingsley is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1948 births, Alumni of City, University of London, Alumni of University College London, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Stuart Kingsley 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 Stuart Kingsley in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Stuart Kingsley in simple terms?

Why does Stuart Kingsley 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 Stuart Kingsley?

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 Stuart Kingsley.