astronomy

The Big Jump

The Big Jump 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 The Big Jump rather than just read about it. In short: The Big Jump is a science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, centered on the first crewed expedition to Barnard's Star. Publication The novel was first published in the February 1953 issue of Space Stories.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The Big Jump is a science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, centered on the first crewed expedition to Barnard's Star.

Publication The novel was first published in the February 1953 issue of Space Stories. Its first book publication was in the early Ace Double D-103 with Philip K. Dick's first novel, Solar Lottery.

Summary The novel begins with the entire Solar System waiting for the news of the first successful interstellar expedition to Barnard's Star, a mission named "The Big Jump". However, only one crewman, Ballantyne, returns, half-dead and with a body so changed he's barely human. The protagonist Comyn attempts to uncover the truth about the Big Jump and his missing friend, crewman Paul Rogers. Comyn speaks with Ballantyne and gains valuable information about a planet around the star and what the crew had found there. In an attempt to rescue Rogers, he meets the Cochrane family, who have monopolized in-system travel. Comyn claims to know detailed information about the Star, leading the Cochrane family to build another starship. They send Comyn out to rescue the other crew members but Comyn suspects that one of his crew is planning to murder him...

Reception The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction described it as "efficient but seem somewhat routine when set beside Brackett's best single pure-sf work, The Long Tomorrow."

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The Big Jump

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The Big Jump 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 The Big Jump 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 The Big Jump 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 The Big Jump

In research: The Big Jump 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 The Big Jump 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: The Big Jump is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1950s science fiction novel stubs, 1955 American novels, 1955 English-language novels, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The Big Jump 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.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “The Big Jump” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study The Big Jump in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is The Big Jump in simple terms?

The Big Jump is a science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, centered on the first crewed expedition to Barnard's Star. Publication The novel was first published in the February 1953 issue of Space Stories.

Why does The Big Jump 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 The Big Jump?

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 The Big Jump.