astronomy

Thomas Gwyn Elger

Thomas Gwyn Elger 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 Thomas Gwyn Elger rather than just read about it. In short: Thomas Gwyn Empy Elger FRAS (27 October 1836 – 9 January 1897) was a British selenographer and one of the preeminent lunar observers of the Victorian age, best known for his lunar map, which was regarded as one of the best available until the 1960s. He was the first director of the Lunar Section of the British Astronomical Association (BAA), and is remembered by the lunar crater Elger.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Thomas Gwyn Empy Elger FRAS (27 October 1836 – 9 January 1897) was a British selenographer and one of the preeminent lunar observers of the Victorian age, best known for his lunar map, which was regarded as one of the best available until the 1960s. He was the first director of the Lunar Section of the British Astronomical Association (BAA), and is remembered by the lunar crater Elger.

Biography Thomas Elger was born on 27 October 1836 in Bedford, where his family had been established for several generations, and educated at Bedford School. His father Thomas Gwyn Elger (1794 – 1841) was an architect and builder. Grandfather, father and son engaged in town politics, and all held the post of mayor. Elger studied at University College London and adopted the profession of a civil engineer. He was engaged in several important works, including the Metropolitan Railway and the Severn Valley Railway. However, his surveys for railway construction in Holstein were put to a stop by the war with Prussia and Austria in 1864. Soon afterwards he relinquished the active pursuit of his profession and devoted himself to scientific studies. He had developed a strong taste for astronomy already at an early age and erected his first observatory in Bedford. Elger observed with an 8.5-inch reflector. His sketches from 1884 to 1896 are now in the possession of the BAA. He is best known as a careful and indefatigable selenographer, and for this work his artistic skill eminently qualified him. He is most remembered for his book The Moon: A full Description and Map of its Principal Physical Features. Published in 1895, its maps are still highly regarded by lunar observers due to their uncluttered nature. The visual brightness of lunar features is expressed in the Elger's Lunar Albedo Scale. This scale had been established in 1791 by the German astronomer Johann Hieronymus Schröter and popularized by Elger. Elger was a member of several astronomical associations, and he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society on 10 February 1871. He was a founding member of the short-lived Selenographical Society, in 1878, President of the Liverpool Astronomical Society, and a founding member of the British Astronomical Association, in 1890, becoming the first director of its Lunar Section. He was appointed an associate of the Astronomical Society of Wales, a form of honorary membership. Besides his astronomical work, he was an ardent archaeologist and founded the Bedfordshire Natural History Society and Field Club. Thomas Gwyn Elger died on 9 January 1897, aged 60, and the lunar crater Elger was named in his honour in 1912.

References

Further reading Johann Hieronymus Schröter: Selenotopographische Fragmente zur genauern Kenntniss der Mondfläche, ihrer erlittenen Veränderungen und Atmosphäre, sammt den dazu gehörigen Specialcharten und Zeichnungen. Lilienthal: Auf Kosten des Verfassers. 1791/1797/1802.

External links Elger, Thomas Gwyn (1838-1897) Archived 17 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 May 2005 Bedford Astronomical Society (BAS) at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 August 2001). Retrieved 15 May 2005 LPOD - Lunar Photo of the Day - 28 March 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2005 Elger's Albedo Scale Works by Thomas Gwyn Elger at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Thomas Gwyn Elger at the Internet Archive

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thomas Gwyn Elger

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thomas Gwyn Elger 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 Thomas Gwyn Elger 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 Thomas Gwyn Elger 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 Thomas Gwyn Elger

In research: Thomas Gwyn Elger 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 Thomas Gwyn Elger 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: Thomas Gwyn Elger is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1836 births, 1897 deaths, 19th-century British astronomers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thomas Gwyn Elger 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 Thomas Gwyn Elger in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Thomas Gwyn Elger in simple terms?

Why does Thomas Gwyn Elger 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 Thomas Gwyn Elger?

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 Thomas Gwyn Elger.