Deneb

From Arabic ذَنَب الدَّجَاجَة (ḏanab ad-dajāja, “hen's tail”), from ذَنَب (ḏanab, “tail”) + دَجَاجَة (dajāja, “hen”).

der

ذَنَب الدَّجَاجَة

(astronomy) A blue giant star in the constellation Cygnus; Alpha (α) Cygni. It forms one corner of the Summer Triangle. Deneb is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, and one of the most luminous stars known.


Albireo

Probably from the phrase "ab ireo" in the title for the constellation Cygnus in the star catalog of the Almagest, as translated by Gerard of Cremona. Christian Ludwig Ideler speculated that "ireo" referred to the plant called irio. Later, people apparently considered "abireo" to refer to the star, and as a misprint of an Arabic term, and transcribed it as al-bireo.

(astronomy) A binary star in the constellation Cygnus; Beta (β) Cygni.


Thuban

From Arabic ثُعْبَان (ṯuʕbān, “snake”), the Arabic name for the constellation Alpha Draconis being الثُعْبَان (aṯ-ṯuʕbān).

(astronomy) α Draconis, a white giant star in the constellation Draco which served as the North Star from about 3942 to 1793 BC.


Southern Cross

Crux
Southern Cross (disambiguation)#Places

/ˌsʌðə(ɹ)n ˈkɹɒs/

The stars had not quite faded out of the sky, and the Southern Cross was still shining faintly in the heavens; the jungle all round was very still, just as if Nature was waiting to introduce the busy hum of life till the last solemn scene was over.

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 167:

(astronomy) A distinctive winter constellation of the southern sky, shaped like a cross, which appears in the flags of several countries in Oceania.


Northern Cross

(astronomy) A summer asterism of the northern sky, said to resemble a cross. It includes the stars Deneb and Albireo.


Chamaeleon

Learned borrowing from Latin chamaeleon (“chamaeleon”), from Ancient Greek χαμαιλέων (khamailéōn). Doublet of chameleon. Named by Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597.

lbor

1994, Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica, Volumes 28-30, Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, page 50,
The X-ray luminosity function has been determined so far only for the far only for the central parts of the Chamaeleon SFR by Fiegelson et al. (1993).

2001, A. Mizuno, T. Hayakawa, T. Onishi, Y. Fukui, Dense Core Survey toward the Chamaeleon Dark Cloud Complex with the NANTEN Radio Telescope, Alwyn Wootten (editor), Science with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA): Proceedings of a Conference, Astronomical Society of the Pacific, page 146.

2005, Memorie Della Società Astronomica Italiana, Volume 76, Issues 1-2, Società Astronomica Italiana, page 263,
We note, however, that the surveyed area in Chamaeleon II was relatively small in comparison with the other two regions, covering only part of a cloud core to the north-west.

(astronomy) A small circumpolar constellation of the southern sky, imagined to resemble a chameleon, which lies south of the constellations Carina and Musca.

Chamaeleon (constellation)
Frederick de Houtman
Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser


Dorado

Named by Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597. From Italian dorato (“gilded, golden”), ultimately from Latin deaurātus, the past participle of deaurō (“to gild”).

Large Magellanic Cloud
Large Magellanic Cloud

(astronomy) A small constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a goldfish or swordfish. It lies between the constellations Pictor and Reticulum, and is notable for containing most of the Large Magellanic Cloud.


Alnair

From Arabic النَّائِر (an-nāʔir, “the bright [one]”).

der

(astronomy) A bluish-white star in the constellation Grus; Alpha (α) Gruis.

(astronomy) A bluish-white binary star in the constellation Centaurus; Zeta (ζ) Centauri.


Fornax

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. Originally called Fornāx Chemica,
From the Latin for "chemical furnace".

(astronomy) A winter constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a furnace. It lies near the constellation Eridanus.

(astronomy) A dwarf galaxy located in the constellation Fornax.


Alnitak

From Arabic النِطَاق (an-niṭāq, “the girdle”).

(astronomy) A triple star in the constellation of Orion; Zeta (ζ) Orionis, one of the three stars that form Orion's Belt.


Algenib

From Arabic الجَانِب (al-jānib) "the side".

[γ, 3, white, erroneously placed by Tycho in Pisces marks the extreme tip of the Horse's wing, so that its name Algenib has been considered as derived from Al Janāh, the Wing, but it probably is from Al Janb, the Side. It has sometimes been written Algemo.]

1899, Richard Hinckley Allen, Star-Names and Their Meanings, New York: G. E. Stechert, page 326:

(astronomy) A β Cephei variable subgiant, visible as a third-magnitude blue-white star in the northern constellation of Pegasus, one of four stars in the asterism of the Great Square of Pegasus.

(astronomy) Synonym of Mirfak (the star α Persei).


Algol

From Arabic الْغُول (al-ḡūl, “the ghoul”).

(astronomy) An eclipsing binary star in the constellation of Perseus; Beta (β) Persei. It represents the eye of Medusa, whose head is being held by Perseus.


Alkaid

From Arabic القَائِدُ لبَنَاتِ النَعْش (“the leader of the girls at the bier”), from قَائِد (qāʔid, “leader”) + بَنَات (banāt) plural of بِنْت (bint, “girl”) + نَعْش (naʕš, “bier”). With reference to the mourners at the funeral of Calypso (who became the Great Bear).

القَائِدُ لبَنَاتِ النَعْش

(astronomy) A star in the constellation of Ursa Major, the easternmost star of the Plough.


Alphard

From Arabic الفَرْد (al-fard, “the solitary one”).

(astronomy) An orange giant star in the constellation of Hydra; Alpha (α) Hydrae.


Alpheratz

From Arabic سُرَّةُ الْفَرَس (surratu l-faras, “the horse's navel”) (referring to Pegasus), from سُرَّة (surra, “navel”) + فَرَس (faras, “horse, steed”).

سُرَّةُ الْفَرَس

In the head of Andromeda, there is a star of the second magnitude called Alpheratz and is one of those which form the square of Pegasus[…]. Alpheratz is on an imaginary line drawn from the north-easternmost star in the square of the Great Bear, through the north polar star, and distant from the latter about 61 degrees.

1821, Thomas Kerigan, The Young Navigator's Guide to the Sidereal and Planetary Parts of Nautical Astronomy: Being the Theory and Practice of Finding the Latitude, the Longitude, and the Variation of the Compass by the Fixed Stars and Planets. […], London: Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, page 67:

[Alpheratz, Alpherat, and Sirrah are from the Arabians' Al Surrat al Faras, the Horse's Navel, as this star formerly was associated with Pegasus, whence it was transferred to the Woman's hair; and some one has strangely called it Umbilicus Andromedae. But in all late Arabian astronomy taken from Ptolemy it was described as Al Rās al Mar'ah al Musalsalah, the Head of the Woman in Chains.]

1899, Richard Hinckley Allen, Star-Names and Their Meanings, New York: G. E. Stechert, page 35:

spectroscopic binary
spectroscopic binary

(astronomy) A spectroscopic binary, visible as a second-magnitude blue-white star marking the head of the chained woman in the northern constellation of Andromeda (formerly seen as part of Pegasus), one of four stars in the asterism of the Great Square of Pegasus.


Dubhe

From the Arabic phrase اَلْظَهْرُ اَلْدُبِّ اَلْأَكْبَر (al-ẓahru l-dubbi l-ʔakbar, “the back of the great bear [i.e. Ursa Major]”), from ظَهْر (ẓahr, “back”) + دُبّ (dubb, “bear”) + أَكْبَر (ʔakbar, “great”).

(astronomy) A multiple star in the constellation of Ursa Major and part of the Plough; Alpha (α) Ursae Majoris.


Elnath

From Arabic النَّطْح (an-naṭḥ, “the butting [one]”).

bor

(astronomy) The second-brightest star in the constellation of Taurus.


Enif

From Arabic أَنْف (ʔanf, “nose”) (i.e. of Pegasus).

[Enif, Enf, and Enir, all titles for this, are from Al Anf, the Nose, by which the Arabians designated it.]

1899, Richard Hinckley Allen, Star-Names and Their Meanings, New York: G. E. Stechert, page 327:

(astronomy) A type-LC irregular variable supergiant, visible as a second-magnitude orange star, or telescopically as an apparent triple star, marking the nose of the horse in the northern constellation of Pegasus.


Eltanin

From the Arabic رَأْس اَلتِّنِّين (raʔs at-tinnīn, “the dragon’s head”), from رَأْس (raʔs, “head”) + تِنِّين (tinnīn, “dragon”).

رَأْس اَلتِّنِّين

(astronomy) An orange giant star, the brightest in the constellation of Draco.


Fomalhaut

From Arabic فَمُ الْحُوت (famu l-ḥūt, literally “the fish mouth”).

فَمُ الْحُوت

(astronomy) The brightest star in the constellation Piscis Austrinus and one of the brightest stars in the night sky; Alpha (α) Piscis Austrini.


Kochab

Borrowed from Arabic كَوْكَب (kawkab, “star”).

bor+

(astronomy) β Ursae Minoris, the second-brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, formerly a dual North Star with Pherkad from about 1000 BC to about AD 300.


Mirfak

(astronomy) Alpha Persei, a yellow supergiant star in the constellation of Perseus.


Horologium

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Christian Huygens
Horologium (constellation)
Horologium Oscillitorium
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Solarium Augusti
Tower of the Winds

See horologium. As a location in Rome, a clipping of Latin Hōrologium Augustī (“Sundial of Augustus”). As a constellation, a clipping of Latin Hōrologium Oscillitorium (“Pendulum Clock”), coined in 1763 by the French astronomer De Lacaille to honor the Dutch astronomer and mathematician Christian Huygens, who had written a major work by that name.

bor

(astronomy) A constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a pendulum clock. It lies between the constellations Fornax and Dorado.


Mintaka

From Arabic مِنْطَقَة (minṭaqa, “belt”).

(astronomy) A multiple star in the constellation of Orion; Delta (δ) Orionis, one of the three stars that form Orion's Belt.


Pavo

Named by Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597. From Latin pāvō (“peacock”). Doublet of pea.

(astronomy) A constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a peacock. It lies between the constellations Telescopium and Octans.

Frederick de Houtman
Pavo (constellation)
Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser


Markab

From Arabic المَرْكَبُ الفَرَس (al-markabu l-faras, “the saddle of the horse”), from مَرْكَب (markab, “boat, saddle”).

der

المَرْكَبُ الفَرَس

[Markab (the south-westernmost star in the square) is one of the stars from which the moon's distance is calculated in the Nautical Almanac, for the purpose of finding the longitude by lunar observations.]

[Markab—Flamsteed's Marchab—is the Arabs' word for a Saddle, Ship, or Vehicle,—anything ridden upon,—that was early applied to this star; but they also designated it as Matn al Faras, the Horse's Withers or Shoulder, and Bayer cited Yed Alpheras, the Horse's Hand, or, more properly, Forearm,—the Arabian Yad.]

1899, Richard Hinckley Allen, Star-Names and Their Meanings, New York: G. E. Stechert, page 324:

(astronomy) A subgiant, visible as a second-magnitude bluish star in the northern constellation of Pegasus, one of four stars in the asterism of the Great Square of Pegasus, one of the lunar stars observed in navigation.

(astronomy) A star in the constellation Puppis; Kappa (κ) Puppis.

(astronomy) A star in the constellation Vela; Kappa (κ) Velorum.


Pictor

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From Latin pīctor (“easel”).

(astronomy) A summer constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble an easel. It lies between the constellations Carina and Dorado.


Piscis Austrinus

From Latin piscis austrīnus (“southern fish”).

bor

(astronomy) An autumn constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a fish. It contains the star Fomalhaut.


Puppis

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From Latin puppis (“stern of a ship”). Doublet of poop.

(astronomy) A winter constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble the stern of a ship. Until 1763, it was part of a larger constellation, Argo Navis.


Argo Navis

From Latin Argo nāvis, the mythical "ship Argo".

(astronomy): A former constellation of the southern sky, said to represent the mythical ship Argo. In 1763, it was divided into the three new constellations: Carina (keel), Puppis (stern), and Vela (sail).


Carina

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From Latin carīna (“the keel of a ship”)

(astronomy) A summer constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble the keel of a ship. It contains the star Canopus, the second brightest star in the night sky. Until 1763, it was part of a larger constellation, Argo Navis.


Canopus

(astronomy) A white bright giant, visually the second brightest star in the night sky, a part of the southern constellation of Carina.


Pyxis

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in 1763, and originally called Pyxis Nautica (“nautical compass”), from Latin pyxis (“little box”).

(astronomy) A spring constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble the compass of a ship. It is associated with the larger Argo Navis, although it was never officially part of that constellation.


Solar System

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This morning we are celebrating a beginning. A beginning of what we think is great promise. It's the opening of a new era in the history of manned space flight. We are ready to take that first great step out into the Solar System and onto the surface of the nearest of the many mysterious worlds that surround us in Space.

November 2, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson, 5:32 from the start, in The President: November 1968. MP902 (1280x720), Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum:

(astronomy) The Sun and all the heavenly bodies that orbit around it, including the eight planets, their moons, the asteroids, and comets.

Sonnestelsel

the Sun and all the heavenly bodies that orbit around it


Plutonian

From Pluto (“dwarf planet in the Solar System”) + -n- + -ian (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘from, related to, or like’, or nouns meaning ‘one belonging to, relating to, or like’), probably influenced by Plutonian (“of or relating to Pluto, Greek and Roman god of the underworld”) (see etymology 1).

affix

Burl studied the captured Plutonian hand weapons, and was pleased to have one of the Neptunian soldiers pick one up and demonstrate how it was fired. It had apparently simpler controls than most Plutonian products, for it easily blazed forth a bolt of electronic fire that blasted a tall, crystalline tree to shards.

1959, Donald A[llen] Wollheim, “The Museum of Galactic Life”, in Cecile Matschat, editor, The Secret of the Ninth Planet (A Science Fiction Novel), Philadelphia, Pa.: John C. Winston Co., →OCLC; republished in The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack, [Rockville, Md.]: Wildside Press, 2012, →ISBN:

Roure did not carry his work to completion. He derived only four intermediate orbits of Pluto for the combinations of Pluto and the four outer planets, and determined the inequalities in the Plutonian motion under the effect of Neptune which are dependent on the first degree of Plutonian eccentricity and inclination.

1969 January, Sh. G. Sharaf, “Introduction”, in Theory of Motion of the Planet Pluto: Part One. Plutonian Perturbations of the First Order with Respect to Perturbing Masses: […] (NASA Technical Translations; NASA TT F-490), Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, →OCLC, page 4:

[Gerard] Kuiper (1944) searched for spectroscopic evidence of an atmosphere around Pluto as part of the same program that discovered CH₄ on Titan. Because of the difficulty of observing an object as faint as Pluto, no useful results were obtained; however, Kuiper presented arguments in favor of a Plutonian atmosphere based on the stability of the atmosphere against loss to space.

1997, Roger V. Yelle, James L[udlow] Elliot, “Atmospheric Structure and Composition: Pluto and Charon”, in S[ol] Alan Stern, David J[ames] Tholen, editors, Pluto and Charon (Space Science series), Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, part IV (Atmospheres), page 347:

[James Walter] Christy also knew that 6.39 days is the exact period of time that it takes Pluto to make one complete turn around its axis—the length of a Plutonian day.

2010, Kristi Lew, “Pluto’s Structure and Features”, in Karen Ang, editor, The Dwarf Planet Pluto (Space!), Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, →ISBN, page 31:

(astronomy) Of or relating to the dwarf planet Pluto.

plutondar

of or relating to the dwarf planet Pluto


Ursa Major

/ˌɝsə ˈmeɪdʒɚ/

Borrowed from Latin ursa maior (“greater bear”).

My father compounded with my mother under the dragon's tail, and my nativity was under ursa major.

c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

(astronomy) A large circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a bear. It includes the familiar asterism the Big Dipper and the stars Mizar, Dubhe, and Alkaid.


Ursa Minor

/ˌɝsə ˈmaɪnɚ/

From Latin ursa minor (“(the) lesser bear”).

(astronomy) A circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a bear. It includes the familiar asterism of the Little Dipper and, as part of it, the northern pole star Polaris, as well as Kochab.

Еҵәаџьаа

a circumpolar constellation of the northern sky


Big Dipper

(astronomy, especially US) A bright circumpolar asterism of the northern sky, said to resemble a ladle or cart, and a part of the constellation Ursa Major which includes the stars Mizar, Dubhe, and Alkaid. The other stars comprising it are Alioth, Megrez, Merak, and Phecda.

بَنَاتُ نَعْشٍ الكُبْرَى

Còig Gadhair Osgair (the line from Alkaid to Dubhe, excluding Phecda and Merak which are known as Tulga is Talga)


Little Dipper

(astronomy) A bright circumpolar asterism of the northern sky, said to resemble a ladle or cart. It is part of the constellation Ursa Minor and includes the northern pole star Polaris.


Mizar

(astronomy) A binary star in the constellation Ursa Major; Zeta (ζ) Ursae Majoris.


Enceladus

From Latin Enceladus, from Ancient Greek Ἐγκέλαδος (Enkélados).


Kepler's equation

Named after Johannes Kepler (1571–1630), German mathematician and astronomer.

(astronomy, celestial mechanics) the mathematical relationship between the mean anomaly (M) and the eccentric anomaly (E) of a planet in an elliptical orbit with eccentricity (ϵ). M=E-ϵ· sin (E).


Kepler's laws

en-noun

Kepler's laws pl (normally plural, singular Kepler's law)

For Johannes Kepler, German mathematician and astronomer.

(astronomy) The three laws of planetary motion discovered by Kepler in the early 17th century, stating that (i) the orbit of a planet is an ellipse with the Sun at one of the two foci, (ii) a line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time, and (iii) the square of the orbital period of a planet is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.

Johannes Kepler
Kepler's laws of planetary motion


Alcmene

From Latin Alcmēnē, from Ancient Greek Ἀλκμήνη (Alkmḗnē).

(astronomy) 82 Alkmene, a main belt asteroid.


Octans

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From Latin octans (“an octant”). Doublet of octant.

(astronomy) A small circumpolar constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble an octant. It lies closest to the southern celestial pole of any constellation.


Norma

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From Latin norma (“a carpenter's square”).

(astronomy) An inconspicuous constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a carpenter's square. It lies south of the constellations Scorpius and Centaurus.


Leo Minor

Named by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687. From Latin leō, a "lion" + minor, "lesser"

(astronomy) A spring constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a small lion. It lies north of the constellation Leo and south of Ursa Major.


Summer Triangle

(uranography) A bright asterism of the northern summer sky. Its corners are the three 1st-magnitude stars Altair (α Aql), Deneb (α Cyg), and Vega (α Lyr).


Sextans

Named by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1690. From Latin sextans, a "sextant" (nautical measuring implement)

(astronomy) A dim spring constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a sextant. It lies south of the constellation of Leo.


apo-

From the Ancient Greek prefix ἀπό- (apó-), from the preposition ἀπό (apó, “from, away from”), from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“off, away”), whence the English words off and of, and ab- (via Latin). Doublet of ab- and off-.

der

apoposeidion is apoapsis around Neptune, apouranion is apoapsis around Uranus, apocytherion is apoapsis around Venus

Distant, far from, or apart in position.

(astronomy) Apoapsis: the point of a body's elliptical orbit about the system's centre of mass where the distance between the body and the centre of mass is at its maximum.


light curve

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(astronomy) a graph of the intensity of radiation from an astronomical object as it changes with time


almucantar

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From Middle English almicanteras, French almicantarat, almucantarat, from Medieval Latin almicantarath, almucantarath, from Arabic المقنطرات (almuqanṭarāt, “circles of celestial latitude”), from قَنْطَرَة (qanṭara, “arch”).

Almucantars, or parallels of altitude, are circles parallel to the horizon, or whose poles are the zenith and nadir. All the points of any one almucantar are at equal altitudes above the horizon.

1816, Olinthus Gregory, “On Projections of the Sphere”, in Elements of Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, London: Baldwin, page 119:

(astronomy, archaic or historical) A small circle on the celestial sphere, parallel to the horizon, that is used in astronomy and navigation to show altitude of a star or any other heavenly body.

horisontin kanssa yhdensuuntainen ympyrä

A wide field of work appears open in the application of photography to meridian instruments, or to the almucantar. The sensitive plate should be substituted for the reticule, and the position marked by a graver attached to the tail-piece of the telescope.

1886 March 10, Edward Charles Pickering, “Stellar Photography”, in Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, volume XI, number IV, page 204:

(astronomy, archaic or historical) An instrument for observing the heavenly bodies as they cross such a circle.


Local Group

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Coined by American astronomer Edwin Hubble in 1936.

coin

Small Magellanic Cloud
Small Magellanic Cloud

(astronomy) The small cluster of galaxies that contains the Milky Way Galaxy; includes Andromeda, Triangulum, the Large Magellanic Cloud, Small Magellanic Cloud and others.


Monoceros

First recorded by the astronomer Jakob Bartsch in 1624, but possibly created earlier by Petrus Plancius. From Latin monocerōs (“unicorn”).

(astronomy) A winter constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a unicorn. It lies amid the Milky Way, just east of the constellation Orion.


Magellanic Cloud

en-noun

Magellanic Cloud (plural Magellanic Clouds)

Named after Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

named-after

(astronomy) Either of two irregular galaxies that are close companions of our Milky Way galaxy.


rima

Borrowing from Latin rīma (“a cleft, crack, fissure, chink”).

bor

Look for three prominent interior craters, as well as an ancient rima falling near the shadow's edge.

2006, Tammy Plotner, Jeff Barbour, What's Up 2006: 365 Days of Skywatching, page 128:

(astronomy) A crack or fissure on a lunar or planetary surface; a rille.


Palladian

From Latin Palladius (“of or relating to Pallas”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives from nouns). Palladius is derived from Pallas (from Ancient Greek Παλλάς (Pallás), genitive Παλλάδος (Palládos), an epithet of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom) + -ius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns).

suffix

the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid

(astronomy) of or pertaining to the asteroid Pallas


Gemma

→ Cebuano: Gemma

→ Tagalog: Gemma

Ultimately from Latin gemma (“jewel”). The given name is mostly borrowed via Italian Gemma; the spelling Jemma in particular is associated with James. Doublet of gemma and gem.

(astronomy) A bright binary star in the constellation Corona Borealis; Alpha (α) Coronae Borealis.


Messier number

From Charles Messier (1730-1817), the French astronomer who first published his Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters in 1774.

(astronomy) A catalogue number used to identify any one of more than one hundred galaxies, nebulae, and other deep-sky objects visible in the night sky; the designation formed by the surname Messier or letter M being prepended to the number, as in Messier 31 or M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy).


Messier

en-proper noun

Messier (countable and uncountable, plural Messiers)

Messier 31 (M31) is the Andromeda Galaxy; Messier 42 (M42) is the Orion Nebula

A surname from French [in turn originating as an occupation], famously held by:

Charles Messier (1730-1817), a French astronomer who between 1774 and 1781 published his Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters, a catalogue of deep-sky objects.

(astronomy) As a designation, the numbered objects in Messier's catalog are prepended with his surname or the letter M.


New General Catalogue

(astronomy) A catalogue of deep sky objects compiled in the 1880s by J. L. E. Dreyer using observations mostly from William Herschel. It contains nearly 8,000 objects, known as the NGC objects. Objects in the catalogue are numbered, and the letters NGC are prepended to these numbers, as in NGC 224 (the Andromeda Galaxy) or NGC 6205 (the globular cluster in Hercules).


quarter moon

(astronomy) Either of the intermediate stages between the new and full moons.


Circinus

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From Latin circinus (“a pair of compasses”)

(astronomy) A small constellation of the southern winter sky, said to resemble a compass. It lies between the constellations of Centaurus and Triangulum Australe.

圓規座 /圆规座

a small constellation of the southern winter sky


Columba

From Latin columba (“dove, pigeon”). The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit in Christianity.

(astronomy) A small winter constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a dove.


Microscopium

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763, from later Latin microscopium (“microscope”).

(astronomy) A faint constellation of the southern spring sky, said to resemble a microscope. It lies south of the constellation of Capricornus.


Musca

Borrowed from Latin musca (“a fly”). Named by Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman, between 1595 and 1597. Doublet of mouche.

(astronomy) An autumn constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a fly, between the constellations of Carina and Apus.

Frederick de Houtman
Musca
Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser


Rigel

A corruption of Arabic رِجْل (rijl, “foot, leg”), in the Arabic name رِجْل الْجَبَّار (rijl al-jabbār, literally “foot of the great one”).

(astronomy) A blue supergiant star in the constellation Orion; Beta (β) Orionis. The seventh brightest star in the night sky.


Tucana

Named by Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597. From later Latin tucana (“toucan”).

(astronomy) A spring constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a toucan. It lies south of the constellations Phoenix and Grus.


micrometeoroid

(astronomy, geology) an extraterrestrial particle less than a millimeter in size

Mikrometeorit

astronomy: extraterrestrial particle less than a millimeter in size


Telescopium

The constellation was named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763, from New Latin telescopium (“a telescope”)

(astronomy) A small faint constellation of the southern winter sky, said to resemble a telescope. It lies south of the constellation of Corona Australis.


Reticulum

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. From later Latin rēticulum (“reticle”). The meaning is often wrongly interpreted as "net", which is an older meaning of the Latin root word. Doublet of reticle, reticule, and reticulum.

doublet

(astronomy) A small constellation of the southern summer sky, said to resemble a reticle. It lies between the constellations of Horologium and Dorado.

Verkko

(Chinese, astronomy) Classified as two of 23 "Southern Asterisms" (近南極星區, Jìnnánjíxīngqū)


Orion Nebula

(astronomy) A diffuse nebula visible in the night sky below Orion's Belt; it is approximately 40 light years across. It is one of the brightest nebulae visible to the naked eye and is the closest region of stellar formation to Earth.


Orion's Belt

(astronomy) A bright asterism located near the celestial equator, consisting of three bright stars lined up and visibly close together.


Triangulum Galaxy

(astronomy) A relatively nearby spiral galaxy in the Local Group, together with the Milky Way galaxy. It is at a distance of approximately 2.6 million light years from Earth, in the direction of the constellation Triangulum, and is also known as M33 and NGC 598.


Triangulum Australe

Named by Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597. From Latin triangulum (“triangl”) + australe (“southern”).

(astronomy) A winter constellation of the southern sky, which has three bright stars that form a triangle. It lies north of the constellation Apus, between Ara and Circinus.


Canis Major

From Latin canis maior (“(the) greater dog”).

(astronomy) A winter constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a dog following the hunter Orion. It includes the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius (sometimes called the Dog Star).


Canis Minor

From Latin canis minor, the "lesser dog".

(astronomy) A small winter constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a dog following the hunter Orion. It is most notable for including the eighth brightest star in the night sky, Procyon.


Canes Venatici

Named by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687. From Latin canes venatici (literally: "dogs of hunting").

The sky was very clear and I could see Cassiopeia and Orion and maybe Canes Venatici, but I was never too sure about that one.

2009, Percival Everett, I Am Not Sidney Poitier, Influx Press, page 215:

(astronomy) A dim spring constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a pair of hunting dogs (Chara and Asterion) held on a leash by Boötes and following the bear Ursa Major.


Charles' Wain

From Middle English Charlewayn, from Old English carles wǣn, apparently from a common Proto-Germanic *karlas wagnaz (cognate with forms in other Germanic languages, e.g. Swedish Karlavagnen). It seems that this common Germanic name originally meant the ‘peasant's wagon’ (the churls' wagon) in contrast to the ‘woman's wagon’ (Ursa Minor). Later it was interpreted as ‘Charles's wagon’ and associated with Charlemagne.

Charles waine is ouer the new Chimney, and yet our horse not packt.

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

Charles's Wain was getting towards a right angle with the Pole star, and Gabriel concluded that it must be about nine o'clock.

1874, Thomas Hardy, chapter VI, in Far from the Madding Crowd:

Down from the heights reels the glittering Cassiopeia as the hours wear on, while Charles’ Wain lumbers up from behind the vapour-soaked swamp trees that sway in the night-wind.

(astronomy) A bright circumpolar asterism of the northern sky, said to resemble a wagon or cart. It is part of the constellation Ursa Major and includes the seven stars Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid.


molecular cloud

en-noun

molecular cloud (plural molecular clouds)

(astronomy) A large and relatively dense cloud of cold gas and dust in interstellar space from which new stars are formed


Alcyone

Latin Alcyonē, from Ancient Greek Ἀλκυόνη (Alkuónē), from Ancient Greek ἀλκυών (alkuṓn), which is considered to be of Pre-Greek origin.

(astronomy) One of the stars of the Pleiades star cluster, named after the mythical character.


hydrogen line

(physics, astronomy) a spectral line of atomic hydrogen having a wavelength of about 21cm; used extensively in radio astronomy


Equuleus

(astronomy) The second-smallest constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a little horse. It lies west of the constellation Aquarius.


Eridanus

From Latin Eridanus, from Ancient Greek Ἠριδανός (Ēridanós).

(astronomy) A large winter constellation of the northern sky. It lies near Orion and Cetus.


Procyon

/ˈpɹəʊsiˌɒn/

From Latin Procyōn, from Ancient Greek Προκύων (Prokúōn), from πρό (pró, “before”) + κύων (kúōn, “dog”), in reference to it preceding the "Dog Star" Sirius.

affix

(astronomy) A star in the constellation Canis Minor; Alpha (α) Canis Minoris. The eighth brightest star in the night sky.


ascendant

en-adj

ascendant (comparative more ascendant, superlative most ascendant)

more ascendant (comparative)
most ascendant (superlative)

PIE word
 *h₂éd
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English ascendent (“ascending, rising; increasing in quantity; (astronomy) rising above the horizon”) [and other forms], borrowed from Old French ascendant, from Latin ascendentem, the accusative singular of ascendēns (“ascending, rising”), the present participle of ascendō, adscendō (“to climb up, go up, move upwards; to rise; to spring up”), from ad- (prefix meaning ‘(up) to’) + scandō (“to ascend, climb, mount; to clamber”) (from Proto-Indo-European *skend- (“to climb, scale; to dart; to jump; to scan (poetry)”)). The English word is analysable as ascend (verb) + -ant (suffix forming adjectives from verbs with the sense of ‘doing [the verbal actions]’).
The noun is probably derived from the adjective, though it is attested earlier than the latter.

suffix

suffix forming adjectives from verbs with the sense of ‘doing 􂀿the verbal actions􂁀’

[W]e muſt diſcover freezing ſtars that may reſolve the latter colds of vvinter, vvhich vvho ever deſires to invent, let him ſtudie the ſtarres of Andromeda, or the nearer conſtellation of Pegaſus, vvhich are about that time aſcendant.

1646, Thomas Browne, “Of the Canicular or Dogdayes”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC, 4th book, page 227:


helium flash

(astronomy) The sudden beginning of the burning of helium in the core of stars of intermediate mass or on the surface of an accreting white dwarf.


neutrino astronomy

Wikiversity neutrino astronomy (canonical)

(astronomy) The detection and study of neutrinos, in order to investigate astronomical objects and the universe.


GRB

(astronomy) Initialism of gamma-ray burst.


nucleosynthesis

en-noun

nucleosynthesis (countable and uncountable, plural nucleosyntheses)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-nucleosynthesis.wav

(physics, astronomy) Any of several processes that lead to the synthesis of heavier atomic nuclei.

nucleosynthese

process that leads to synthesis in stars


flexure

flexure (countable and uncountable, plural flexures)

(astronomy) The small distortion of an astronomical instrument caused by the weight of its parts; the amount to be added or subtracted from the observed readings of the instrument to correct them for this distortion.


hydrogen burning

(physics, astronomy) the nucleosynthesis process, in stars of less than 1.2 solar mass, in which hydrogen is converted to helium, deuterium and some lithium

Wasserstoffbrennen

process, in which hydrogen is converted to helium


helium burning

(physics, astronomy) the nucleosynthesis process, in stars with temperatures over 10⁸K, in which helium is converted to carbon and then to oxygen, neon and magnesium

Heliumbrennen

process, in which helium is converted to carbon


carbon burning

(physics, astronomy) the nucleosynthesis process, in stars of greater than 8 solar mass that have exhausted their helium supply, in which carbon is converted to neon, sodium, magnesium and other elements


oxygen burning

oxygen burning (usually uncountable, plural oxygen burnings)

(physics, astronomy) The nucleosynthesis process, subsequent to carbon burning, in which neon disintegrates to oxygen which subsequently fuses to form silicon, phosphorus sulfur and other elements of atomic number up to 40.


silicon burning

(physics, astronomy) the nucleosynthesis process, in stars where temperatures exceed 3x10⁹K, in which silicon undergoes photodisintegration to form fragments which in turn produce elements of atomic number up to 60, peaking at iron


LiBeB process

(physics, astronomy) Any nucleosynthesis process, the details of which are unclear, that accounts for the light elements lithium, berylium and boron which cannot survive in stellar interiors because they are destroyed by proton capture.


carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle

(physics, astronomy) A group of nuclear reactions, that involve the interaction of protons with carbon, nitrogen and oxygen nuclei, thought to be the main source of energy in main-sequence stars of greater than 1.4 solar mass.

ciclo del carbonio-azoto

a group of nuclear reactions thought to be the main source of energy in main-sequence stars of greater than 1.4 solar mass


solar mass

(astronomy) A unit, equal to the mass of the sun, used to express the mass of other stars etc. 1 M_☉ = 2 × 10³⁰ kg.


Olbers' paradox

From Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers, German astronomer.

(astronomy) The observation that the night sky is mostly dark, yet, in a boundless universe of stars, every line of sight from the eye must eventually intercept the surface of a star.

Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers
Olbers' paradox


airmass

Unfortunately, the extinction is very sensitive to the airmass[…]

2007, Th. Ratzka et al., “High spatial resolution mid-infrared observations of the low-mass young star TW Hydrae”, in Astronomy and Astrophysics, volume 471, →DOI:

(astronomy) The amount of air through which light from a celestial object passes, normalized to 1 for an object at zenith.


helium star

(astronomy) A star which has lost most or all of its hydrogen, leaving just a core of helium.


helium variable

helium variable (plural helium variables)

(astronomy) A star in which the strength of the helium absorption lines vary periodically; at times appearing to be a helium star.


absorption line

absorption line (plural absorption lines)

electromagnetic radiation
electromagnetic radiation

(physics, astronomy) A spectral line that corresponds to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a specific wavelength; the pattern of such lines is characteristic of specific atoms or molecules in the path of the radiation.

absorptielijn

a spectral line that corresponds to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a specific wavelength


red supergiant

(astronomy) A very large, red star, such as Betelgeuse and Antares.


fossa

fossa (plural fossae or (obsolete) fossæ)

Unadapted borrowing from Latin fossa (“a ditch, trench, fosse”). Doublet of fosse.

ubor

(astronomy) A long, narrow, shallow depression on the body of an extraterrestrial body, such as a planet or moon.


lithium-drifted silicon detector

en-noun

lithium-drifted silicon detector (plural lithium-drifted silicon detectors)

lithium-drifted silicon detectors (plural)

(physics, astronomy) a radiation detector used in astrophysics, nuclear physics, imaging and X-ray spectroscopy


superstar

The greater an object's mass, the greater its gravitational force. If a star could attain a certain mass --- say a million to 100 million times the mass of our own sun --- then its gravity would become 100 times as powerful as the forces generated by the strongest known nuclear reactions. Such a super superstar, in a normal course of its evolution, would contract..

1964, Life: Volume 56, No. 4, →ISBN, page 11:

Toward the centre of the cluster, where they were more strongly congested, the whole region glowed as though as it were a monstrous superstar.

1975, Harold W. G. Allen, The Edge of the Universe: What is Our Destiny? Is There Life After Death? What Incredible Secret Lies in the Depths of Space?, Allen Book Pub., page 36:

Perhaps a supermassive cluster can coalesce to form a superstar -- a star with a mass of 1 million to 100 million solar masses.

1979, Michael Zeilik, Astronomy: The Evolving Universe, Harper and Row, →ISBN, page 379:


carbon star

(astronomy) any of a class of red giant stars having a high proportion of carbon because of helium burning


photosphere

(astronomy) A visible surface layer of a star, and especially that of a sun.


Doris

(astronomy) 48 Doris, a main belt asteroid.


brown dwarf

brown dwarf (plural brown dwarfs or brown dwarves)

brown dwarfs (plural)
brown dwarves (plural)

(astronomy) A starlike object that contracts to about the volume of Jupiter after its formation phase; its mass may range from several times that of Jupiter, such that it fuses deuterium, up to just below the threshold of sustained hydrogen fusion.


plasmon

(physics, astronomy) The quantum of waves produced by the collective effects of large numbers of electrons when disturbed from equilibrium.


Phobos

From Ancient Greek Φόβος (Phóbos, “Fear”).

(astronomy) The innermost natural satellite of Mars.


Deimos

From Ancient Greek Δεῖμος (Deîmos), from δειμός (deimós, “terror”).

(astronomy) The outermost natural satellite of Mars.


Themisto

(astronomy) A natural satellite of Jupiter


civil time

The civil time in a certain place is the mean solar time plus twelve hours which are added so that the day begins at midnight and not at midday. Universal time is the civil time of the international meridian.

2012, Pierre Léna, Daniel Rouan, François Lebrun, François Mignard, Didier Pelat, Observational Astrophysics, Springer Science & Business, →ISBN, page 161:

(astronomy) Mean solar time reckoned from midnight by adding twelve hours.


Sirius

From Latin Sīrius, from Ancient Greek Σείριος (Seírios), usually taken from σείριος (seírios, “scorching; scorcher”).

(astronomy) A telescopic binary star, visually the brightest star in the night sky, a part of the northern constellation of Canis Major (the Greater Dog), one of three stars in the Winter Triangle asterism. Long understood as a single extremely luminous white star, it was associated in ancient Egypt with the Nile flood and in Greek and Roman culture with the "dog days" of summer.

(astronomy, specifically) The brightest star of the aforementioned star system; the white main-sequence star Sirius A.


SSS

super soft source
super soft source#English

(astronomy) Initialism of super soft source.


Davidian

(astronomy) Of or relating to the asteroid (511) Davida.


areocentric

en-adj

areocentric (comparative more areocentric, superlative most areocentric)

more areocentric (comparative)
most areocentric (superlative)

an areocentric coordinate system

an areocentric orbit

(astronomy) Having the planet Mars at the center.


sulcus

Borrowed from Latin sulcus (“a furrow made by a plow”). Doublet of sullow ("plough").

bor

(planetology) A region of subparallel grooves or ditches formed by a geological process.


Pole Star

(astronomy) Synonym of North Star, the current northern pole star, which has been Polaris for the last 1500 years.


Juno

From Middle English Juno, from Latin Iūnō of uncertain origin. One hypothesis is derivation from Proto-Indo-European *dyúh₃onh₂- (“she of heavenly authority”), from *dyew- (“sky, heaven”) + *-Hō (“burden, authority”), reflecting her role as goddess of rulers. Another is derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yúh₃onh₂- (“the young goddess”), from *h₂eyu- (“long time, lifetime”) + *-Hō (“burden, authority”), making it cognate with Latin iuvenis (“young”). Both would have produced the unattested early Latin form *Iuvō, declined with the root Iūn- and eventually normalized to Iūnō.

der

(astronomy) 3 Juno, the third asteroid discovered.


Salm

(astronomy) The star Tau Pegasi in the constellation of Pegasus.


Daphne

From Ancient Greek δάφνη (dáphnē, “laurel, bay”).

bor

(astronomy) 41 Daphne, a main belt asteroid.


Dog Star

From the fact that the star lies in the constellation of Canis Major (the "larger dog").

(astronomy) A bluish-white star in the constellation Canis Major; Alpha (α) Canis Majoris A. A vertex of the Winter Triangle and the brightest star in the night sky. It is actually a binary star with a white dwarf companion star.


radar astronomy

(astronomy) A technique that uses radar echoes to examine bodies within the solar system, obtaining information about size, shape, topography, surface density, spin etc.


Proteus

Derived from Ancient Greek Πρωτεύς (Prōteús).

der+

(astronomy) The sixth satellite of the planet Neptune.


obliquity

en-noun

obliquity (countable and uncountable, plural obliquities)

From Middle French obliquité, from Latin oblīquitās, from oblīquus (“oblique”). Corresponding to oblique + -ity.

Calculating by spherical trigonometry, and assuming the same obliquity, I obtain 3 dundas and 40 pulas for the ascensional arc, giving a difference in time of 3 pulas, or about one of our minutes; an error so small, that even were the Indian astronomer aware of its existence he would disregard it, satisfied that the practical purposes which his labours subserve, are, notwithstanding, carried out with sufficient accuracy.

1839 October, J.J. Middleton, “Description of an Astronomical Instrument presented by Raja Ram Sing, of Khota, to the Government of India”, in Journal of the Asiatic Society, volume 8, number 94, page 837:

(astronomy, by extension, of a planet) Axial tilt.


USP

ultra-short period planet
ultra-short period planet#English

(astronomy) Abbreviation of ultra-short period planet.


black dwarf

(astronomy) A hypothesized white dwarf that has cooled down and no longer emits visible light.


blue straggler

This boosted the mass of the companion, turning it into a blue straggler, while reducing the companion to a sub-dwarf B star.

2015, David Stevenson, The Complex Lives of Star Clusters, Springer, →ISBN, page 168:

(astronomy) An unusually hot and blue star in globular clusters.


globular cluster

globular cluster (plural globular clusters)

(astronomy) a densely-packed spherical star cluster containing thousands to millions of stars


open cluster

(astronomy) a more or less irregular star cluster containing tens to thousands of stars


star cluster

(astronomy) A group of gravitationally bound stars and other material (such as nebulae and planets), conventionally with one generation of similarly aged stars from the same pre-stellar nebula.


planetology

(astronomy) The study of planets, planetary systems and the solar system.


Ophelia

/əʊˈfiː.lɪə/

Hamlet
Jacopo Sannazaro
William Shakespeare

Borrowed from Italian Ofelia, coined by the poet Jacopo Sannazaro in his poem Arcadia (1504), probably from the Ancient Greek ὠφέλειᾰ (ōphéleiă, “help, aid, succour”). The name was used by William Shakespeare for the ill-fated love interest of Hamlet.

uder

(astronomy) A moon of Uranus, named after the character in Hamlet.


Inari

(astronomy) 1532 Inari, a main belt asteroid.


Ariadne

en-proper noun

Ariadne (countable and uncountable, plural Ariadnes)

(astronomy) 43 Ariadne, a main belt asteroid.


Roche limit

Named after French astronomer Édouard Roche, who first calculated the limit in 1848.

It might be argued, therefore, that Jupiter is so massive and its gravitational field so intense that it swept out the matter within its Roche limit very effectively.

1979, Isaac Asimov, The Road to Infinity, Doubleday, page 145:

The prelunar mass must first be moved outside the Roche limit if accumulation is to occur.

1986, William K. Hartmann, Roger J. Phillips, G. Jeffrey Taylor, editors, Origin of the Moon, Lunar and Planetary Institute, page 91:

If, however, the planet's moon comes inside the Roche limit, the tidal forces overcome its gravity and pull the moon apart.

2003, Michael A. Seeds, Foundations of Astronomy, Brooks/Cole, page 512:

(astronomy) The closest a satellite can approach its parent body before the gravitational forces holding it together are overwhelmed by tidal forces pulling it apart.

limite de Roche

distance of a satellite from its parent body at which its internal gravitational forces exactly balance the external tidal forces


guest star

(astronomy, historical) A nova or supernova recorded in Chinese astronomy which has appeared where no star was known before.


exoplanet

Constructed from Ancient Greek: exo- (“outside; extrasolar”) + planet.

More such announcements will likely come in the months to follow, as the first space observatory dedicated to hunting exoplanets, called COROT, begins full operation and researchers complete their calculations.

2007, Alexander Hellemans, “Dangling a COROT”, in Scientific American, volume 297, number 3, page 32:

In the past two years, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has located nearly 3,000 exoplanet candidates ranging from sub-Earth-sized minions to gas giants that dwarf our own Jupiter. Their densities range from that of styrofoam to iron.

2013 May-June, Kevin Heng, “Why Does Nature Form Exoplanets Easily?”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 184:

In a first for astronomers studying worlds beyond our solar system, data from the Hubble Space Telescope have revealed water vapor in the atmosphere of an Earth-size planet. Although this exoplanet orbits a star that is smaller than our sun, it falls within what’s known as the star’s habitable zone, the range of orbital distances where it would be warm enough for liquid water to exist on a planet’s surface.

2019 September 11, Michael Greshko, “Water found on a potentially life-friendly alien planet”, in National Geographic:

(astronomy, planetology) A planet which exists outside Earth's solar system.

كَوْكَب خَارِج اَلْمَجْمُوعَة اَلشَّمْسِيَّة

太陽系外惑星

たいようけいがいわくせい


dwarf planet

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-dwarf planet.wav

A member of the Fomor Belt, Bres is a dwarf planet with no atmosphere.

2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Bres:

(astronomy) A planetary (world-like) body of the Solar system, that directly orbits the Sun like the classical planets but does not gravitationally dominate other bodies in the region of its orbit.

Ceres

most likely dwarf planets of the Solar System


Schmidt telescope

en-noun

Schmidt telescope (plural Schmidt telescopes)

(astronomy) A telescope, having a wide field of view, comprising a thin aspheric lens and a large concave mirror


Schmidt camera

(astronomy) A camera mounted in a Schmidt telescope


Oberon

Earlier Auberon, from Old French Alberon, partial loan translation from Middle High German Alberich, literally ‘elf king, fairy king’, from alp + -rich << Proto-Germanic *rīks.

(astronomy, moons) The outermost major moon of Uranus.


sidereal time

(astronomy) Time measured by the apparent diurnal motion of the vernal equinox; approximated by that based on the rotation of planet Earth relative to the seemingly fixed stars.

恆星時 /恒星时

time measured by apparent motion of vernal equinox


Planet X

X represents an unknown as opposed to the Roman numeral for 10 (initially, Planet X would have been the ninth planet).

(astronomy) A hypothetical planet in the Solar system, beyond the currently known outermost planet. (The term was applied to Eris for a short while, when Pluto was still considered the ninth planet.)

(astronomy, obsolete) A theoretical planet responsible for reported gravitational perturbations of Neptune's orbit. (This was initially believed to be Pluto. The reported perturbations were an error.)

(astronomy, obsolete) A theoretical planet responsible for observed gravitational perturbations of Uranus' orbit. (This planet was discovered and is now known as Neptune.)


collimator

(astronomy) A small telescope attached to a larger one, used to point it in the correct general direction.


solar corona

(astronomy) The upper atmosphere of the sun, only visible during a total solar eclipse


solar radiation

(astronomy) All the electromagnetic radiation and subatomic particles radiated from the Sun, especially that part that reaches the Earth

auringon säteily

all the electromagnetic radiation and subatomic particles radiated from the sun


spiculum

From Latin spīculum (“a little sharp point”), from spīcum, alternative form of spīca (“point, spike”).

(astronomy) A small radial emission of gas seen in the chromosphere and corona of the sun.


photometer

en-verb

photometer (third-person singular simple present photometers, present participle photometering, simple past and past participle photometered)

photometers (present singular third-person)
photometering (participle present)
photometered (participle past)
photometered (past)

/ˈfəʊtəʊˌmiːtə(ɹ)/

(astronomy) To measure some aspect of light (from a star) using a photometer.


photometry

en-noun

photometry (usually uncountable, plural photometries)

(astronomy) The measurement of the intensity and spectrum of light from stars.

fótaiméadracht

astronomy: the measurement of the intensity and spectrum of light from stars


photovisual

(astronomy) Relating to the magnitude of a star as measured by the size of its image on an isochromatic photographic emulsion.


semidiameter

From Middle English semidiametre, semydiametre, from Medieval Latin sēmidiameter, equivalent to semi- + diameter.

(astronomy) The apparent radius of a star etc, when viewed from Earth.


Dysnomia

From Ancient Greek Δυσνομία (Dusnomía, literally “lawlessness”), from δύσνομος (dúsnomos, “lawless”).

bor

(astronomy) The only known moon of the dwarf planet Eris.


interplanetary space

(astronomy) That part of outer space between the planets of a solar system and its star


space motion

(astronomy) The real or apparent motion of a star etc. through space.


space reddening

en-noun

space reddening (plural space reddenings)

(astronomy, astrophysics) The reddening of the light from distant stars because of selective absorption and scattering by interstellar dust


space velocity

space velocity (plural space velocities)

(astronomy) The velocity of a star relative to the Sun


WR

(astronomy) Initialism of Wolf-Rayet star.


rectification

rectification (countable and uncountable, plural rectifications)

/ˌɹɛktɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/

From Middle English rectificacioun, from Old French rectificacion, from Late Latin rectificatio.

(astronomy) The adjustment of a globe preparatory to the solution of a proposed problem.


Great Bear

(astronomy) A bright circumpolar asterism of the northern sky, said to resemble a large bear. It is part of the constellation Ursa Major and includes the stars Mizar, Dubhe, and Alkaid.

Otava

a bright circumpolar asterism of the northern sky


initial mass function

(astronomy) a relationship that specifies the mass distribution of a newly formed stellar population


luminosity function

(astronomy) A relative measure of the relationship between stellar magnitude and the distribution of stars between magnitudes


phase function

(astronomy) A function that describes the angular distribution of light reflected from a body when illuminated from a specific direction


Waggoner

(astronomy) Alternative spelling of Wagoner


Hubble

(astronomy) The astronomer Edwin Powell Hubble.

(astronomy, space flight) The Hubble Space Telescope.


occulted

en-adj

occulted (comparative more occulted, superlative most occulted)

more occulted (comparative)
most occulted (superlative)

1893, Francis Thompson, Love in Dian’s Lap, VII. “Her Portrait” in Poems, London: Elkin Mathews & John Lane, p. 24,
[…] nigh her lids eclipse
Each half-occulted star beneath that lies;

(astronomy) Concealed, as by a body coming between.


lambert

From Lambert; Named for Johann Heinrich Lambert (1728–1777), a Swiss mathematician, physicist and astronomer.

(physics, astronomy) a cgs unit of luminance; the brightness of a surface that emits one lumen per square centimetre

en:Johann Heinrich Lambert
en:Lambert (unit)


waterhole

* water + hole.
* (astronomy): Coined by Bernard Oliver in 1971, in allusion to the idea that this part of the spectrum would be that used by extraterrestrial intelligence to communicate.

electromagnetic spectrum
electromagnetic spectrum

(astronomy) A part of the electromagnetic spectrum, between the regions where hydrogen and hydroxyl radiate, that is relatively quiet in terms of radio astronomy.


periastron

en-noun

periastron (plural periastrons or periastra)

/pɛɹɪˈæstɹən/

From Ancient Greek περί (perí, “around”) + ἄστρον (ástron, “star”).

(astronomy) That point of the orbit of a celestial body which is closest to the star around which the body is orbiting.


spectral type

(astronomy) an indication of the physical and chemical characteristics of a star based on the spectrum of light that it emits


spectroheliograph

(astronomy) an instrument that produced monochromatic photographs of the sun using light at a selected wavelength


spectroheliogram

(astronomy) a photograph taken using a spectroheliograph

speictrihéileagram

astronomy: a photograph taken using a spectroheliograph


divot

1530s, Scots divot (“turf”), also spelt devat, diffat, and the earliest form (1435), duvat(e), from Scottish Gaelic dubhad, a reduced form of dubh-fhàd, literally “black sod” (compare fàl (“turf, sod”)).

(mathematics, astronomy) a drop in a graph between two linear portions (example)


RA

(astronomy) Initialism of right ascension.


seasonal constellation

seasonal constellation (plural seasonal constellations)

(astronomy) A constellation that is only above the horizon (and thus visible) for part of the year.


antecedence

antecedence (countable and uncountable, plural antecedences)

From Latin antecēdentia from Latin antecēdēns (“preceding”), from antecēdō (“go before”).

(astronomy, obsolete) An apparent motion of a planet toward the west.


evening star

From evening + star. Cf. Old English ǣfensteorra.

We now know that the evening star is the morning star – that is, Hesperus is Phosphorus.

(astronomy) The planet Venus as seen in the western sky in the evening.


solar eclipse

From solar + eclipse. First use appears c. 1602 in the writings of Thomas Blundeville.

The mother warned her daughter not to look at the sun during the solar eclipse as it could do irreparable damage to her eyes.

(astronomy) A phenomenon occurring when the Moon passes between the Earth and the sun.


lunar eclipse

(astronomy) A phenomenon occurring when the Earth casts a shadow over the Moon.

maansverduistering

when the Earth casts its shadow over the Moon


meteor shower

(astronomy) A phenomenon occurring when many meteors are seen on Earth during a short period of time.

meteoorreën

Meteors seen on Earth for short time period


falling star

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Upon seeing the majesty of heaven (e.g., lightning, falling stars, or the renewal of the solar cycle), high mountains, or other glorious phenomena of nature [one should say]: "Blessed . . . Who doest the work of creation."

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 283:


North Star

From Middle English north sterre, norþ sterre, equivalent to north + star.

Sterenn

star near the northern celestial pole — see also Polaris, Thuban

(astronomy) The current northern pole star, the star nearest the northern celestial pole, which has been Polaris for the last 1500 years.


supermassive black hole

supermassive black hole (plural supermassive black holes)

(astronomy) Any black hole with a mass from 10⁵ to 10¹⁰ times that of the Sun.


Big Crunch

(cosmology) The hypothetical eventual collapse of the universe that would ultimately occur if it contracted continuously in the future.

velký krach

hypothetic eventual collapse of the universe


sexagenary

/ˌsɛksəˈd͡ʒɛnəɹi/

/sɛkˈsæd͡ʒəˌnɛɹi/

/ˌsɛksəˈd͡ʒiːnəɹi/

/ˌsɛksəˈd͡ʒɛnɹi/

/ˌsɛksəˈd͡ʒɛnəɹi/

/sɛkˈsæd͡ʒɪnəɹi/

From Latin sexāgēnārius (“sixty; sixty years old; a sixty-year-old”) either directly or via French sexagénaire, from Latin sexāgēnus (“60 each”), from sexaginta (“six tens, sixty”). Cognate with sexagenarian.

der

Of or related to the number sixty, particularly:

(mathematics, astronomy, now rare) Synonym of sexagesimal: base-60.

Of or related to the number sixty
Synonym of sexagesimal: base-60.


sexagenary

/ˌsɛksəˈd͡ʒɛnəɹi/

/sɛkˈsæd͡ʒəˌnɛɹi/

/ˌsɛksəˈd͡ʒiːnəɹi/

/ˌsɛksəˈd͡ʒɛnɹi/

/ˌsɛksəˈd͡ʒɛnəɹi/

/sɛkˈsæd͡ʒɪnəɹi/

(mathematics, astronomy, now rare) Synonym of sexagesimal: base-60 numeration.


Pallas

From Ancient Greek Παλλάς (Pallás) (f.) or Πάλλας (Pállas) (m.), from πάλλω (pállō, “to poise, sway, or swing”), but explained here by the ancients as more specifically meaning to brandish something. In Athena's conventional iconography, she was often depicted with a spear or a shield. Thus the epithet was explained as referring to her brandishing these things.

(astronomy) The second asteroid discovered, and third largest, (2) Pallas.


star cloud

(astronomy) A large group of many stars spread over very many light-years of space; the stars are not part of any structure but are in an area of greater than average stellar density.


starburst galaxy

en-noun

starburst galaxy (plural starburst galaxies)

(astronomy) A galaxy that is undergoing a high rate of star formation


supergranulation

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(astronomy) A large-scale system of convection cells covering the surface of the sun

supergranulazione

system of convection cells covering the sun


superluminal

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The first thing to understand about superluminal expansion is that it isn't visible to the unaided eye. The objects that appear to be moving faster than light are emitting radio waves, not visible light.

1984, Edward Edelson, “Faster than light?”, in Popular Science, retrieved 2013-11-20, page 70:

(astronomy, physics, fiction, fantasy) Faster than light; having a speed greater than light.

(unpreferred translation due to hyperphoton, hyperphotonic: υπερφωτονικός m (yperfotonikós), υπερφωτονική f (yperfotonikí), υπερφωτονικό n (yperfotonikó))


Ptolemaic

Via Latin Ptolemāicus from Koine Greek Πτολεμᾱϊκός (Ptolemāïkós) from Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaîos), a proper name derived from Epic Greek πτόλεμος (ptólemos), variant of Ancient Greek πόλεμος (pólemos, “battle, war”); equivalent to Ptolemy + -ic.

der

(astronomy) Of or pertaining to the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy.


plutino

From Plut(o) + -ino (“diminutive suffix”), meaning "little Pluto" (compare neutrino); coined by David C. Jewitt, et al.

We present a study of the dynamical evolution of plutinos recently escaped from the resonance through numerical simulations. It was shown in previous works the existence of weakly chaotic orbits in the plutino population that diffuse very slowly finally diving into a strong chaotic region.

2010, Romina P. Di Sisto, Adrián Brunini, Gonzalo C. de Elía, “The contribution of plutinos to the Centaur population”, in Julio A. Fernández, Daniela Lazzaro, Dina Prialnik, Rita Schulz, editors, Icy Bodies of the Solar System: IAU Symposium S263, Cambridge University Press, page 89:

This is dubbed a 3:2 resonance (with Neptune), Pluto being the largest Plutino.
About one fourth of the KBOs are Plutinos. Plutinos may be debris from the collision of another KBO with Pluto, resulting in the formation of Pluto's largest moon, Charon.

2018, C Sivaram, Kenath Arun, Kiren O V, Current Trends in Astrobiology, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, page 39:

(astronomy) Any planetoid in the Kuiper belt whose orbit, like that of Pluto, has a resonance of 3:2 with that of Neptune.

冥族小天體 /冥族小天体

planetoid in orbit with 3:2 resonance to that of Neptune


ephemeris

en-noun

ephemeris (plural ephemerides or ephemerises)

ephemerides (plural)
ephemerises (plural)

From New Latin ephēmeris, from Ancient Greek ἐφημερίς (ephēmerís, “diary, calendar”), from ἐφήμερος (ephḗmeros, “daily”).

der

[…]Mr. Samuel got 150 pounds of bread, with a small quantity of rum and wine, also a quadrant and compass; but he was forbidden on pain of death to touch either map, ephemeris, book of astronomical observations, sextant, timekeeper, or any of my surveys or drawings.

1792, William Bligh, chapter 13, in A Voyage to the South Sea:

(astronomy, nautical) A table giving the apparent position of celestial bodies throughout the year; normally given as right ascension and declination.


zone of avoidance

(astronomy) The region of the Universe in alignment with the galactic plane of the Milky Way where few galaxies were initially seen due to dust interfering with the view of ground-based telescopes.


right ascension

en-noun

right ascension (plural right ascensions)

The sun's right ascension in time is useful to the practical astronomer in regular observatories, who adjusts his clock by sidereal time.

1809, William Nicholson, “ASCENSION”, in The British Encyclopedia, or Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; […], volume I (A … B), London: Printed by C[harles] Whittingham, […]; for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], →OCLC, column 1:

The right ascensions and declinations obtained by the preceding calculations, are the mean values, to which must be applied the corrections for the Nutation and Aberration Tables XLII. XLIII. in cases where great accuracy is required, as is now done in the Nautical Almanac for 24 of the brightest stars for 10 days in the year, and those numbers in the Nautical Almanac are to be preferred.

1826, Nathaniel Bowditch, Jonathan Ingersoll Bowditch, American Practical Navigator, US Hydrographic Office, page 280:

1988, Peter Duffett-Smith, Practical Astronomy with Your Calculator, page 35,
The hour-angle, H, and the right ascension, α, are related by the simple formula
H = LST − α,
where LST is the local sidereal time.

(astronomy) The angular distance east of the vernal point (“the solar zenith at the March equinox”); the celestial equivalent of longitude.


proper motion

proper (in the sense of "its own") + motion; from Latin proprius.

(astronomy) The change in apparent position of a celestial body due to that body's velocity relative to the Sun.


scintillation

scintillation (countable and uncountable, plural scintillations)

Do the stars scintillate at all altitudes? Is there any altitude at which it ceases to manifest itself? At Morges the stars in general scintillate at all altitudes, although feebly near the zenith; but on the nights when the scintillation is very faint, it ceases completely at a zenith distance of 45°.

1857 December 11, Charles Dufour, “Notes on the Scintillation of the Stars. By Professor Dufour. (Extracts of Letters to Professor Piazzi Smyth.)”, in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Containing Papers, Abstracts of Papers, and Reports of the Proceedings of the Society, volume XVIII, number 2, London: Printed by George Barclay, Castle Street, Leicester Square and published at the apartments of the [Royal Astronomical] Society, published 1858, →OCLC, page 53:

It is generally believed that the planets do not scintillate at all, or scarcely at all. Nevertheless I have often observed a sensible scintillation of Venus and Mars, and in a few rare cases I have also observed a slight scintillation of Jupiter and Saturn. […] I would therefore call the attention of observers who may find themselves under atmospherical conditions of a nature to render the general scintillation very strong, to this point, as they might perhaps be able to ascertain whether Jupiter and Saturn ever sensibly scintillate.

1860 March, Charles Dufour, “XXIX. Instructions for the Better Observation of the Scintillation of the Stars. By Charles Dufour, Professor of Mathematics at Morges.”, in The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, volume XIX (4th Ser.), number CXXVI, London: Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, printers and publishers to the University of London [...], page 223:

(astronomy) The twinkling of a star or other celestial body caused by turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere.


surficial

From superficial, under influence from surface.

When the soil swells on wetting, the former surficial material is mixed with the subsoil.

(geology, astronomy) Of or pertaining to the surface of something, particularly the surface of the Earth.


autumnal equinox

autumnal equinox (plural autumnal equinoxes)

(astronomy) The moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator while tilting away from the observer, taking place in September in the northern hemisphere and March in the southern hemisphere.


roaster

From Middle English roster, roostare, equivalent to roast + -er (agent noun suffix) or + -er (patient suffix). Same formation as roster, although the words have very different meanings.

Some of the earliest discoveries of exoplanets were roasters because they are the least difficult to detect.

(planetology, informal) An epistellar gas giant exoplanet.


variable star

(astronomy) Any star whose brightness varies.


heat death of the universe

the heat death of the universe (canonical)

thermodynamic equilibrium
thermodynamic equilibrium

(cosmology, thermodynamics) A theoretical future state of the universe in which the universe attains thermodynamic equilibrium and a further increase of entropy is no longer possible.


Pasiphae

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Πασιφάη (Pasipháē).

(astronomy) One of the moons of Jupiter.


meridional

/mɪˈɹɪdɪənəl/

Borrowed from Middle French meridional, from Latin merīdiōnālis, from merīdiēs (“noon; south”).

(astronomy, geography, meteorology) along a north–south direction, or relative to a meridian; or relating to meridians or a meridian

pohjois–etelä-suuntainen

astronomy, geography, meteorology: along a north–south direction


accretion shock

accretion shock (plural accretion shocks)

(astronomy) A spherical shock wave that arises when material spirals inward to a gravitational source such as a star or black hole.


Wolf-Rayet star

Wolf-Rayet star (plural Wolf-Rayet stars)

For Charles Wolf and Georges Rayet, French astronomers

(astronomy) Any of a class of young, very hot stars that have a very strong stellar wind and consequent broad, strong emission lines.


stellar wind

(astronomy) The equivalent of solar wind associated with a star not restricted to being the Sun.


X-ray astronomy

(astronomy) An observational branch of astronomy, which deals with the study of X-ray emission from celestial objects.


X-ray telescope

X-ray telescope (plural X-ray telescopes)

(astronomy) An instrument that detects X-rays originating from outside the Earth's atmosphere.


gas giant

From gas + giant, coined by American science-fiction writer James Blish and first attested in 1952 in a rewritten version of his 1941 short story Solar Plexus.

coinage

A quick glance over the boards revealed that there was a magnetic field of some strength near by, one that didn't belong to the invisible gas giant revolving half a million miles away.

1954, James Blish, “Solar Plexus”, in Beyond Human Ken, Random House, page 106:

Altanorch is a small but typical hydrogen-helium gas giant with no outstanding features. Its combination of strong magnetic field and relatively shallow gravity well make it a popular "stopover" world for discharging FTL drive cores.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Altanorch:

In the past two years, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has located nearly 3,000 exoplanet candidates ranging from sub-Earth-sized minions to gas giants that dwarf our own Jupiter.

(astronomy) A large planet composed mostly of gaseous hydrogen and helium, along with methane and ammonia; possibly with a solid core.


Local Bubble

(astronomy) A cavity in the interstellar medium of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way estimated to be around 1,000 light years in diameter, with the Solar System sitting close to its centre; likely to be the result of a supernova which exploded in the last ten to twenty million years.


hot Jupiter

Coordinate term: hot Neptune

Or, to put it a different way, the chance of finding a hot Jupiter is 100 times higher than the chance of finding a normal Jupiter, because it is 100 times closer to its parent star.

2010, James Kasting, How to Find a Habitable Planet, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 224:

(planetology) An exosolar planet whose characteristics are similar to Jupiter, but which orbits its parent star much more closely and thus has higher temperatures.


Potomac

European spelling of an Algonquian name, variously claimed to mean "river of swans", "place where people trade" or "place to which tribute is brought". The natives called the river above the falls Cohongorooton, "river of geese", and that area was renowned in early years for an abundance of both geese and swans. The spelling of the name has been simplified over the years from Patawomeke to Patowmack in the 18th century and now Potomac. The river's name was determined officially as Potomac by the US government's Board on Geographic Names during 1931.

(astronomy) The asteroid (1345) Potomac.


smirch

The strain h(t) produced by a smirch in LISA is given by h(t) = −-A(t)cos[(t) + φ(t)]

2003, B. S. Sathyaprakash, BF Schutz, “Templates for stellar mass black holes falling into supermassive black holes”, in Classical and Quantum Gravity, volume 20, number 10:

By observing a smirch, LISA offers a unique opportunity to directly map the spacetime geometry around the central object and test whether or not this structure is in accordance with the expectations of general realtivity.

2005, John M. T. Thompson, Advances in Astronomy: From the Big Bang to the Solar System, →ISBN, page 133:

supermassive black hole
supermassive black hole

(astronomy) A chirp of radiation power from an astronomical body that has a smeared appearance on its plot in the time-frequency plane (usually associated with massive bodies orbiting supermassive black holes)


adaptive optics

(astronomy, optics) An optical system in telescopes that reduces atmospheric distortion by dynamically measuring and correcting wavefront aberrations in real time, often by using a deformable mirror.


infall

en-noun

infall (countable and uncountable, plural infalls)

(astronomy, uncountable) Movement towards a massive astronomical body under the influence of gravity; especially the process whereby gas falls towards a neutron star or black hole at high speed, forming a plasma


infall

en-verb

infall (third-person singular simple present infalls, present participle infalling, simple past infell, past participle infallen)

infalls (present singular third-person)
infalling (participle present)
infell (past)
infallen (participle past)

After this time the beam mass loss rate decreases since once the expansion wave radius is larger than the beam, material initially outside the beam starts to infall and compensate for material which is collapsing at centre of the core [...]

1997, Bo Reipurth, Claude Bertout, Herbig-Haro flows and the birth of low mass stars:

(intransitive, astronomy) To undergo infall.


dark energy

Coined by American cosmologist Michael Turner in 1998, in reference to the earlier term dark matter.

coin

Even Albert Einstein, who first proposed it as the Cosmological Constant in his 1916 General Theory of Relativity, doubted dark energy existed. He called it his "greatest blunder". Now, after a five-year survey of nearly 240,000 galaxies reflecting eight billion years of cosmic history, a team of astrophysicists has shown the elusive force exists. The data were obtained using the Anglo-Australian Telescope, and 26 scientists contributed to the so-called WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey.

2011 May 20, “After study of 240,000 galaxies, dark energy comes to light”, in The Australian:

cosmological constant
cosmological constant

(astronomy, astrophysics) A hypothetical form of energy which, it is supposed, is spread uniformly throughout space (and time) and has anti-gravitational properties: it represents a possible mechanism for the cosmological constant, and thus is one of the possible explanations for the current accelerating rate of expansion of the universe; and it is estimated to account for about 74% of the mass-energy of the universe.

donker energie

hypothetical form of energy which, it is supposed, is spread uniformly throughout space and time and has anti-gravitational properties


brickbats

From brickbat + -s. The plural only sense (“small rocky particles moving as a group in space”) was coined by the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) and is used chiefly in reference to his writings.

coinage

(astronomy, informal) Small rocky particles moving as a group in space, especially as forming rings around planets.


voorwerp

/ˈvɔːɹˌwɛɹp/

From Dutch voorwerp (“object”), after Hanny's Voorwerp, discovered in 2007 by Dutch schoolteacher Hanny van Arkel.

The voorwerp turns out to be a cloud of gas tens of thousands of light-years across, which has somehow been heated to high enough temperatures to emit visible light. The exact mechanism of the heating is still under debate, but probably[…]

2014 December 9, Chad Orzel, Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist, Basic Books, →ISBN:

Other voorwerps have since been spotted, but Hanny holds the distinction of finding the first, with nothing more exotic than a public website and the power of the human brain.

2018 February 15, Matt Brown, Everything You Know About Space is Wrong, Batsford, →ISBN:

But regardless of which explanation is correct, or even if some other explanation is needed, the voorwerp is fascinating. Suppose, for instance, that it really is a quasar mirror. As we've seen, this means that the voorwerp is a huge collection of mirrors, echoing the light of the quasar at many different times over the quasar's lifetime. That means light from the voorwerp is a bit like a biography of the quasar, […]
There's even a voorwerp project, and the Zooites have successfully hunted down several more voorwerps. In all, Galaxy Zoo has been used to write 22 scientific papers, on a wide variety of topics, and many more papers are on the way.

2020 April 7, Michael Nielsen, Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, pages 132, 140:

(astronomy) An ionization or light echo, especially the quasar ionization echo known as Hanny's Voorwerp.


Vulpecula

Named by the astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687. From Latin vulpēcula "little fox".

(astronomy) A faint autumn constellation in the northern sky.


Serpens

From Latin serpēns (“a snake”). Doublet of serpent.

(astronomy) A large summer constellation of the northern sky said to resemble a snake. It is the only constellation consisting of two parts (Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda) separated by the constellation Ophiuchus, representing the snake handler Asclepius.


Ophiuchus

From Latin Ophiūchus, from Ancient Greek ὀφιοῦχος (ophioûkhos, “serpent-handler”), from ὄφις (óphis, “snake”) + ἔχω (ékhō, “to hold”).

derived

(astronomy) A zodiacal constellation of the northern summer said to depict a man (Asclepius) holding a serpent; the serpent is the constellation Serpens.


Sculptor

Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763. Originally called Apparātus Scūlptoris,
Latin for "sculptor's apparatus" but later shortened.

(astronomy) A dim spring constellation of the southern sky. It lies between Aquarius and Phoenix and lies in the direction of the southern pole of the Milky Way.

Nicolas Louis de Lacaille
Sculptor (constellation)


Volans

Named by Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597. Shortened from Piscis Volans, from Latin piscis volāns (“flying fish”).

(astronomy) A small circumpolar constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a flying fish.


Coma Berenices

Named in antiquity after the hair of Queen Berenice II of Egypt. From Latin coma (“hair of the head”) + Berenīcē, from Ancient Greek Κώμη Βερενίκης (Kṓmē Bereníkēs), from κώμη (kome) "hair" + Doric Greek Βερενίκη (Berenike) "bringer of victory"

uder

Κώμη Βερενίκης

(astronomy) A small dim summer constellation of the northern sky, said to represent an offering of hair from Queen Berenice II of Egypt. Originally considered to represent the tuft of hair on the end of Leo's tail.


Corona Australis

From Latin corona australis (“southern crown”).

(astronomy) A small summer constellation of the northern sky said to resemble a crown.


Corona Borealis

From Latin corona borealis (“northern crown”).

bor

(astronomy) A small constellation said to resemble a crown.


Cor Caroli

Borrowed from Latin Cor Caroli (literally “Charles' heart”).

bor+

(astronomy) The brightest star in the constellation Canes Venatici; Alpha (α) Canum Venaticorum (2.90ᵐ).

Alpha Canum Venaticorum

the brightest star in the constellation Canes Venatici


apside

Back-formation from apsides, from Ancient Greek ἁψῖδες (hapsîdes, “apsides”), plural of ἁψίς (hapsís).

der

The phenomena which Sirius presented about 1841, that being according to Peters (confirmed by the results above) the time of the passage of the lower apside, are sufficiently remarkable;

1862, Monthly Notices of The Royal Astronomical Society, volume 22:


Kuiper

(uncountable, astronomy) Gerard Kuiper (U.S. planetary astronomer)

(astronomy, uncountable) An asteroid in Solar System, the 1776th asteroid registered


coplanar

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Gliese 876’s third, innermost planet . . . is likely to be coplanar with its outer two companions.

2009 January 9, Robert Naeye, “Exoplanets' Dance Reveals They're Coplanar”, in skyandtelescope.com, retrieved 2009-01-09:

(astronomy, of multiple planets or other orbiting bodies) Orbiting a central celestial object within the same orbital plane.


standard candle

en-noun

standard candle (plural standard candles)

(astronomy) Any astronomical object of known absolute magnitude. Its distance can then be calculated from its apparent magnitude.


celestial mechanics

(astronomy) The dynamics of celestial bodies subject to mutual gravitational attraction.


sextile

From Latin sextīlis (“one sixth”), from sextus (“sixth”) + īlis (“-ile”).

(astronomy, astrology) Of or denoting the aspect or position of any two celestial bodies separated by 60°.


sextile

(astronomy, astrology) A sextile aspect or position.


comatic

(astronomy) Of or pertaining to the coma of a comet.


big crunch

(astronomy) A singularity at the centre of a black hole, or the final result of the Big Crunch.


Big Rip

(cosmology) A hypothetical end of the universe in which its rate of expansion becomes infinite in finite time, resulting in all matter being torn apart.


spicule

(astronomy) A jet of matter ejected from the photosphere of the sun.


dwarf spheroidal

dwarf spheroidal (plural dwarf spheroidals)

Slightly larger dwarf spheroidals are known to be the single most common kind of galaxy in rich clusters like that seen past the constellation Virgo.

dwarf spheroidal galaxy
dwarf spheroidal galaxy


dwarf spheroidal galaxy

dwarf spheroidal galaxy (plural dwarf spheroidal galaxies)

The inventory keeps growing, and the latest recruit is a dwarf spheroidal galaxy, meaning no gas and not many more than 10⁶⁻⁷ stars, that has the bad luck to be almost on the far side of the galactic centre from us.

(astronomy) A faint galaxy, devoid of gas, having a higher than normal proportion of dark matter; especially those that orbit the Milky Way and Andromeda

nana sfera galaksio

faint galaxy that is devoid of gas with higher than normal proportion of dark matter


protoplanetary

From proto- + planetary and protoplanet + -ary.

(astronomy, planets) Of or pertaining to a protoplanet.


baryonic dark matter

(astronomy) Any large aggregate of ordinary matter that does not emit light.


non-baryonic dark matter

(astronomy, physics) dark matter comprising elementary particles whose composition is as yet unknown, but is presumed to be unlike normal protons, neutrons and electrons etc.


ATA

Allen Telescope Array
w:Allen Telescope Array

(astronomy) Initialism of Allen Telescope Array.


Maia

(astronomy) A star in the constellation Taurus. It is the fourth brightest star in the Pleiades cluster.

(astronomy) 66 Maja, a main belt asteroid.


celestial equator

celestial equator (plural celestial equators)

(astronomy) A great circle on the celestial sphere, coincident with the plane of Earth's Equator.


cosmological decade

cosmological decade (plural cosmological decades)

(astronomy) Any of several divisions in the life of the universe on a logarithmic scale


cosmological horizon

cosmological horizon (plural cosmological horizons)

(astronomy) The distance from an observer in a universe beyond which it is impossible for the observer to see, as the light (or other luminal particles) cannot have travelled that distance over the current age of that universe.


cosmological perturbation theory

cosmological perturbation theory (uncountable)

(astronomy) A mathematical theory that attempts to describe the evolution of the constituents of the universe following the Big Bang


cosmological principle

(astronomy) The assumption that the universe, on a large enough scale, is homogeneous and isotropic.


cosmological redshift

(astronomy) That part of any redshift that is accounted for by the expansion of spacetime following the Big Bang


Lode Star

(astronomy) Synonym of North Star, particularly Polaris, the most used lodestar in the northern hemisphere for the last 1500 years.


barycentre

(mathematics, physics, astronomy) The point at the centre of a system; an average point, weighted according to mass or other attribute. The term is usually used in astronomy for the centre of mass about which a system rotates, for example, the moon and the earth rotate about a common point within the earth but not near the centre. Jupiter and the Sun rotate about a common point just outside the surface of the Sun.


nucleocosmochronology

(astronomy) A technique for estimating the age of astronomical objects by measuring the relative abundances of isotopes

Nukleokosmochronologie

technique for estimating age of astronomical objects


high-frequency gravitational wave

high-frequency gravitational wave (plural high-frequency gravitational waves)

high-frequency gravitational waves (plural)

(physics, astronomy) gravitational radiation, in the megahertz to gigahertz region, which is proposed to have been produced by the Big Bang or by the collision of massive astronomical objects or artificially in the laboratory. Gravitational waves having frequencies higher than 100 kHz.


VLBI

(astronomy) Initialism of very-long-baseline interferometry.


very-long-baseline interferometry

(astronomy) A technique used to improve the angular resolution of a radio telescope by using multiple synchronized antennas very far apart.


binary quasar

(astronomy) A pair of quasars which gravitationally interact with each other, unlike a standard double quasar, which does not interact.


Cerberus

From Latin Cerberus, from Ancient Greek Κέρβερος (Kérberos), of unknown origin.

(astronomy) A former constellation of the northern sky, near Hercules.


planisphere

From plani- + sphere or plani- + -sphere.

(astronomy) Any of several charts of the celestial sphere having an overlay or window that may be adjusted to show the stars visible at a particular time, or from a particular place.


coronagraph

The crosscalibration between LASCO C2 and the STEREO coronagraphs allows, for the first time, the potential use of multi-spacecraft coronagraph data for tomography and for CME analysis..

2015, Huw Morgan, “An atlas of coronal electron density at 5Rs I: Data processing and calibration”, in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, volume 219:

(astronomy) A telescope that has an attachment which blocks out the direct light from the sun or other star, allowing examination of the corona and the detection of exoplanets.


coronagraphic

(astronomy) Of, pertaining to, or employing a coronagraph


planetesimal

Formed from planet by analogy with infinitesimal.

(astronomy) Any of many small, solid astronomical objects that orbit a star and form protoplanets through mutual gravitational attraction.


planetesimal

a planetesimal body

(astronomy) Being or relating to one of these astronomical objects.


Kari

From Norwegian Kari, diminutive of Katrine.


star stream

(astronomy) A line of stars, originally from a dwarf galaxy, that have been captured by gravitational interaction with the Milky Way


dwarf galaxy

(astronomy) Any galaxy, considerably smaller than the Milky Way, that has only several billions of stars.


apsidal

(architecture, astronomy) Of, pertaining to, or in the form of an apse or apsis

absidal

of, pertaining to, or in the form of an apse


quenching

quenching (countable and uncountable, plural quenchings)

From Middle English quenchinge, equivalent to quench + -ing.

(astronomy) A process in which a galaxy loses cold gas, thus strongly suppressing star formation.


tidally locked

Kruban is a tidally-locked Venusian hothouse, its surface perpetually obscured by clouds of sulfur and carbon dioxides.

2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Kruban:

(astronomy) Having undergone tidal locking.


tidal locking

(astronomy) The locking of the rotation of a satellite (moon or planet) to its orbit, such that one side always faces the body around which it is orbiting.


dayside

(astronomy) The side of a planet or other body that faces towards the sun or star around which it orbits


nightside

(astronomy) The side of a planet or other body that faces away from the sun or star around which it orbits.


solar telescope

solar telescope (plural solar telescopes)

(astronomy) A telescope designed to make observations of the sun.


cosmic background radiation

cosmic background radiation (uncountable)

(astronomy) All the electromagnetic radiation entering the Earth from non-point sources in deep space.


redshifted

en-adj

redshifted (comparative more redshifted, superlative most redshifted)

more redshifted (comparative)
most redshifted (superlative)

(astronomy) (of light and other radiation) Increased in wavelength as a consequence of redshift


colatitude

spherical coordinates
spherical coordinates

(astronomy) The complement, in spherical coordinates, of a latitude (the difference between a latitude and 90°).


synodic

Latin synodicus, Ancient Greek συνοδικός (sunodikós, “of or related to an assembly or meeting”). Equivalent to synod + -ic.

uder

a synodical month

the synodical revolution of the moon or a planet

(astronomy) Of or pertaining to the conjunction of two or more heavenly bodies


spring equinox

en-noun

spring equinox (plural spring equinoxes)


protoplanetary disk

protoplanetary disk (plural protoplanetary disks)

(astronomy) A rotating disk of dense gas and dust surrounding a young newly formed star, and from which planets may be formed.


chasma

From Latin chasma, from Ancient Greek χάσμα (khásma, “abyss, cleft”), from Ancient Greek χᾰ́σκω (khắskō, “to gape, yawn”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰan-, *gʰan- (“to gape, yawn”) + -σκω (-skō, inchoative suffix forming a present-tense word), from Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti (suffix forming a durative or iterative imperfective verb); or from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁y- (“to gape, yawn”)) + Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă, suffix forming a noun denoting the result of an action) (from Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ (suffix forming an action or result noun)).
The obsolete “aurora” sense is from the fact that aurorae were thought to be rifts in the sky from which light shone through: see the 1822 quotation.

chasmatical

unattested; appears only in dictionaries

The most prominent tectonic feature on Tethys is the globe-girdling Ithaca Chasma, which is 60 to 100 km wide, 3–4 km deep, and can be traced through at least 270° of a rough great circle (Smith et al, 1982; Moore & Ahern, 1983). […] Odysseys Tangent Chasma. A prominent chasma 60–80 km wide and at least 800 km long (90° arc), visible in 80.27, is tangent to the rim of Odysseus, trending about 10° east of north. The chasma intersects a ridge-bounded trough radial to Odysseus […] and is then lost in the zone around the North Pole that is shadowed in all of the extant images.

1991 June 1, Steven K. Croft, “Tethys Geology and Tectonics Revisited”, in Reports of Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program (NASA Technical Memorandum; accession number 92N10765, document ID 19920001547), Washington, D.C.: Scientific and Technical Information Branch, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2017-02-22, page 98:

Venus shows clear signs of past tectonic activity in the highland regions. The deformational (tectonic) features showing^([sic – meaning show]) the results of both compressional and extensional forces. Rifting of the crust has occurred to produce relatively shallow chasmas and abundant faulting in the Aphrodite Terra and Beta Regio highlands […]

2003, David Leverington, “The Space Age – Terrestrial Planets”, in Babylon to Voyager and Beyond: A History of Planetary Astronomy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 398:

Assuming a subglacial or subaqueous setting for the ILDs [interior layered deposits], a simple tectonic control (and associated rupture of a confined aquifer) alone seems an unlikely trigger for ILD volcanism, or we should also observe ILDs in the linear chasmata, for which a tectonic setting is most likely and in which ILDs are absent. We suggest that the method of formation of the elliptical chasmata and the ILDs may be genetically related.

2007, Mary G. Chapman, John L. Smellie, “Mars Interior Layered Deposits and Terrestrial Sub-ice Volcanoes Compared: Observations and Interpretations of Similar Geomorphic Characteristics”, in Mary [G.] Chapman, editor, The Geology of Mars: Evidence from Earth-based Analogs (Cambridge Planetary Science), Cambridge, New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 203:

The near circular trough of the Artemis chasma [on Venus] has a diameter of 2100 km. The concentric features outside the chasma are attributed to normal faulting associated with lithospheric flexure similar to that occurring seaward of subduction zones on the Earth.

2014, Donald L[awson] Turcotte, Gerald Schubert, Geodynamics, 3rd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 83:

(astronomy, geology) A long, narrow, steep-sided depression on a planet (often other than Earth), a moon, or another body in the Solar System.

Thus Cornelius Gemma, Professor of Medicine in Louvain, mentions them [the aurora borealis] under the name of chasma, as appearing in Brabant on the 13th February and 28th September, 1575.

1814 December, Thomas Thomson, “On the Aurora Borealis”, in Annals of Philosophy; or, Magazine of Chemistry, Mineralogy, Mechanics, Natural History, Agriculure, and the Arts, volume IV, number XXIV, London: Printed by C. Baldwin, New Bridge-street, for Robert Baldwin, Paternoster-Row; sold also by W[illiam] Blackwood, Edinburgh; and J. Cumming, Dublin, →OCLC, page 427:

Livy (lib. xxii. cap. 1.) mentions a similar appearance among the prodigies which preceded Hannibal's entrance into Italy in the second Punic War. It was reported, says he, […] that at Falerii the Heaven seemed to be rent with a vast chasm; and that where it was opened, a great light shone forth. Such phenomena the Roman naturalists called chasmata, chasms, as we learn from Pliny [the Elder], Nat. Hist. lib. ii. cap. 26. and Seneca [the Younger], Nat. Quæst. lib. i. cap. 14.

1822, Samuel Burder, “St. Luke. iii. 21”, in Oriental Literature, Applied to the Illustration of the Sacred Scriptures; Especially with Reference to Antiquities, Traditions, and Manners; Collected from the Most Celebrated Writers and Travellers, Ancient and Modern. Designed as a Sequel to Oriental Customs. … In Two Volumes, volume II, London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Paternoster-Row, →OCLC, paragraph 1283, page 375:

According to the state of the atmosphere, they [the aurora borealis] differ in colour. They often put on the colour of blood, and make a most dreadful appearance. The rustic sages become prophetic, and terrify the gazing spectators with the dread of war, pestilence, and famine. This superstition was not peculiar to the northern islands; nor are these appearances of recent date. The ancients called them Chasmata, and Trabes, and Bolides, according to their forms or colours.

1823, “Aurora Borealis”, in Encyclopædia Britannica: Or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature, 6th enl. and imp. edition, volume III, Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Company; and Hurst, Robinson, and Company, Cheapside, London, →OCLC, page 278, column 2:


dorsum

Borrowing from Latin dorsum (“the back”).

(astronomy) Theta Capricorni, a star on the back of the Goat.


flexus

(astronomy, geology) A low, curvilinear ridge with a scalloped pattern.


fluctus

(astronomy, geology) An area covered by outflow from a volcano.


flumen

Borrowed from Latin flumen (“river”). Doublet of flume.

(astronomy, geology) In planetary geology, any of the river-like features on Saturn's moon Titan.


mons

Borrowed from Latin mōns (“mountain”). Doublet of mount.

Olympus Mons (on Mars)

Maxwell Montes (on Venus)

(astronomy, geology) An extraterrestrial mountain or volcano.


rupes

(astronomy, geology) An escarpment on another planet or a moon.


tholus

From Latin tholus (“dome, rotunda”). Doublet of tholos.

Hecates Tholus is a Martian volcano.

(astronomy, geology) A small domical mountain or hill.


Sagittario

From the constellation Sagittarius, in which it is located as seen from Terra.

(astronomy) The black hole located at the center of the Milky-Way Galaxy.


zenographic

(astronomy) Measured with reference to the surface of the planet Jupiter.


regio

Learned borrowing from Latin regiō. Doublet of region.

(astronomy, geology, planetary geology) Any large area of a planet or moon that is strongly differentiated from neighbouring areas by colour or albedo.

о́бласть

large area of a planet or moon strongly differentiated by colour or albedo