An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

Low angle, → grazing incidence.

→ shallow; → angle.

The part of the → leg between the → knee and the → ankle in humans.

O.E. sceanca "leg, shank, shinbone;" cf. Ger. schenkel "shank, leg," Dan., Swed. skank "leg;" maybe somehow related to Pers. leng, → leg.

Sâq "the leg from the ankle to the knee; the stem of a tree," maybe a variant of šâx "a branch, bough; a horn," or loan from Ar.

→ information entropy.

Claude Elwood Shannon (1916-2001), an American mathematician and pioneer of → information theory; → entropy.

Same as → sampling theorem.

→ Shannon entropy; → sampling; → theorem.

The appearance of something in terms of its arrangement in space, especially its outline.

M.E., from O.E. sceapen, gescapen, p.p. of scieppan; cognate with O.H.G. skepfen "to shape."

Šekl, → figure; dise, → form.

A → general relativity effect whereby an → electromagnetic signal passing near a massive object takes, due to the curved → space-time, a slightly longer time to travel to a target than it would if the mass of the object were not present. The Shapiro time delay is one of the four classic solar system tests of general relativity. Radar reflections from → Mercury and → Mars are consistent with general relativity to an accuracy of about 5%. The Shapiro time delay is a significant contributor in → gravitational lens systems.

Irwin I. Shapiro, an American astrophysicist; → time; → delay.

Same as the → Shapley supercluster.

→ Shapley's wing; → concentration

The richest → supercluster of galaxies in the nearby → Universe at a → redshift going from z ~0.03 to z ~0.05 (680 million → light-years), and extending over several square degrees on the plane of the sky. It lies behind the → Centaurus supercluster. Also called the Shapley concentration, it is made up of 25 → galaxy clusters with a total mass of about 10¹⁶→ solar masses. At the core of the Shapley supercluster is a remarkable complex formed by several rich clusters of galaxies from the → Abell catalog; the central and most massive of them is A3558.

→ Shapley's wing; → supercluster

A large cloud of faint stars extending eastward from the → Small Magellanic Cloud to the → Large Magellanic Cloud. The wing is in fact the tail of a much larger → neutral hydrogen structure linking the SMC to the LMC. Models and observations suggest that the structure known as the → Magellanic Stream results from the Clouds' interaction with each other and the Milky Way. Several works support the finding that the SMC wing is pointing toward the LMC, and is therefore closer to us than the SMC bar.

Named after the American astronomer Harlow Shapley (1885-1972), who discovered this structure (1940, Harvard Bull., 914, 8); → wing.

A catalog of 1,249 galaxies, brighter than the 13th magnitude, published in 1932. A revised version was published by A.R. Sandage and G. A. Tammann in 1981.

By the American astronomer Harlow Shapley (1885-1972) and the American woman astronomer Adelaide Ames (1900-1932), who died in a drowning accident; → catalog.

→ linear astrolabe.

Named after the Iranian mathematician and astronomer Sharafeddin Tusi (c1135-1213), who invented the instrument. Not to be confused with Nasireddin Tusi (1201-1274), → Nasireddin couple; → staff.

1a) The full or proper portion or part allotted or belonging to or contributed or owed by an individual or group.
1b) One of the equal fractional parts into which the capital stock of a joint-stock company or a corporation is divided.
2a) To divide and distribute in shares; apportion.
2b) To use, participate in, enjoy, receive, etc., jointly (Dictionary.com).

M.E., from O.E. scearu "a cutting, shearing; a part or division," related to sceran "to cut;" O.H.G. scara "troop, share of forced labor," Ger. Schar "troop, band," properly "a part of an army," O.N. skör "rim;" from PIE root *(s)ker- "to cut."

Bâš, from Kurd. (Sorani) baš "share, part;" variant of baxš "share, portion;" baxšidan "to divide," → division; bâž "tribute, toll, impost," → distribute.

1) Having a thin cutting edge or a fine point.
2) Of an image, clearly defined; distinct. → sharp image.

M.E.; O.E. scearp "cutting, keen, sharp;" cf. Du. scherp, Ger. scharf "sharp;" PIE base *(s)ker- "to cut."

Tiz "sharp," variants tež, tej, tij, tiq, tik, tig; Mid.Pers. tigr, têz, têž "sharp;" O.Pers. tigra- "pointed," tigra.xauda- "pointed helmet (epithet of Scythians);" Av. tiγra- "pointed," tiγray- "arrow," tiži.arštay- "with the pointed spear;" cf. Skt. tikta- "sharp, pungent, bitter," tejas- "sharpness, edge, point or top of a flame;" PIE base *st(e)ig- "to stick; pointed." Cognates in other IE languages: Gk. stizein "to prick, puncture," stigma "mark made by a pointed instrument;" L. in-stigare "to goad;" O.H.G. stehhan; Ger. stechen "to stab, prick;" Du. stecken; O.E. sticca "rod, twig, spoon;" E. stick.

An image with clear and distinct details. Opposite of → blurred image.

→ sharp; → image.

1) To make sharp or sharper.
2) To increase the spatial resolution or the clearness of an image; same as → deblur; → deconvolve.

Verbal form of → sharp.

Tigidan "to sharpen," verbal form of tig→ sharp.

A list of 313 individual → H II regions in the → northern → Milky Way (north of declination -27°). It includes several → planetary nebulae, → supernova remnants, and → reflection nebulae. The first edition (Sh-1) was published in 1953 with 142 objects and second and final version (Sh-2) was published in 1959. The catalog categorizes the H II regions in terms of several parameters, such as diameter, form (circular, elliptical, irregular), structure (amorphous/filamentary), brightness, and number of associated stars, which are further discussed in terms of their spectral classes.

Stewart Sharpless (1959) A Catalogue of H II Regions, ApJ Suppl. 4, 257; → catalog.

The second brightest star in the constellation → Scorpius, lying at a distance of 570 → light-years. With → Lesath (Upsilon Scorpii) both stars make up the Scorpion's stinger. Shaula is a → multiple star with three visible → components. The first one, Lambda Scorpii A, is classified as a B2 IV → subgiant. The 15th magnitude Lambda Scorpii B has a separation of 42 arcseconds from component A, while the 12th magnitude Lambda Scorpii C is 95 arcseconds from A. It is not known whether or not these components are physically associated with component A. The component A is actually a → triple system consisting of two → B-type stars and a → pre-main sequence star.

Shaula, from Ar. ash-shaulah (الشولاء) the "raised tail" of Scorpion.

Same as → supra-horizontal branch star.

→ supra-; → horizontal; → branch; → star.

1) (n.) General: A scissors of large size.
Physics: A → stress applied to a body in the plane of its faces or perpendicular to its axis. As a consequence, parallel planes in the body remain parallel, but are displaced in a direction parallel to themselves. See also → strain.
2) (v.) General: To cut hair, fleece, or foliage from the surface of something using a sharp tool.
Physics: To cause something to deform or break by applying forces acting parallel to the plane.

M.E. sheren, O.E. sceran, scieran; cf. O.H.G. scrinden "to split;", Du. scheren, Ger. scheren "to shear;" from PIE *(s)ker- "to cut, to scrape, to hack;" cf. Pers. kârd "knife;" Av. kart- "to cut;" Skt. krntáti "cuts;" Gk. keirein "to cut, shear;" Lith. skiriu "to separate."

1) Karn, from Laki caré, Farâhâni carra, Tabari carci "a scissors for cutting sheep wool," cognate with Pers. kârd "knife; " Mid.Pers. kârt "knife," karēnītan, karītan "to cut;" Av. karət- "to cut;" cf. Skt. kart- "to cut," krpāna- "sword, knife;" Gk. karpos "fruit;" L. carpere "to cut, divide, pluck;" PIE base *(s)ker- "to cut."
Karnidan infinitive from karn.

The ratio of the applied → stress to the change in shape (→ strain) produced in an → elastic body. The bigger this quantity the more rigid is the material since for the same change in strain a bigger force is needed. Also called → shear modulus.

→ shear; → modulus.