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

A person who engages in astronomy as a pastime rather than as a profession. → amateur astronomy. See also → professional astronomer.

→ amateur; → astronomer.

The astronomical activities carried out by → amateur astronomers.

→ amateur; → astronomy.

The current geologic era on Mars that began around 2 billion to 3 billion years ago. It is characterized by lower geologic activity such as volcanism and only occasional releases of underground water. A dry environment with a very thin atmosphere in which water can only exist as a solid or a gas, not as a liquid. → Noachian era; → Hesperian era.

Named for the young lava-covered plains called Amazonia Planitia. → era.

A physical process which allows a → molecular cloud to decouple from → interstellar magnetic field in order to undergo → gravitational collapse. A cloud of pure molecular gas would form stars very fast through collapse since neutral matter does not respond to the magnetic field. However, the magnetic field holds up a collapse because the ions present in the cloud collide with the neutrals and tie them to the field. The collapse can then only proceed if the magnetic field can be separated from the gas. In denser molecular cores the ionization degree decreases substantially and therefore neutrals and ions decouple.

→ ambipolar; → diffusion.

An irritating, colorless, gaseous compound of → nitrogen and → hydrogen (NH₃), which is lighter than air and readily soluble in water. It is formed in nature as a by-product of protein metabolism in animals. Ammonia is used in the preparation of many substances containing nitrogen, such as fertilizers, explosives, refrigerants, and so on.

Coined in 1782 by Swedish chemist Torbern Bergman (1735-1784) for gas obtained from ammoniac, a salt and a gum resin containing ammonium chloride found near temple of Jupiter Ammon in Libya, from Gk. ammoniakos "belonging to Ammon" (Egyptian God).

Âmoniyâk, loan from Fr.

A maser source in which excited → ammonia molecules (NH₃) produce → maser emission. The first device to demonstrate the principle of → stimulated emission of radiation used ammonia molecules (Gordon et al. 1954). The hydrogen atoms of ammonia molecules have a rotation motion whereas the nitrogen atom oscillates between two positions, above and below the plane of the hydrogen atoms. These arrangements do not represent exactly the same energy, and therefore the molecule exists in two energy states. The difference in energy between the states corresponds to a frequency of 23.87 GHz, or 1.25 cm. In astrophysics, ammonia maser emission has been detected toward active star formation regions, such as W51. → interstellar masers.

→ ammonia; → maser.

1) General: The act or result of amplifying, enlarging, or extending.
2) Physics: The process of increasing the magnitude of a variable quantity, especially the magnitude of voltage, power, or current, without altering any other quantity.

Verbal noun of → amplify.

1) Electronics: The extent to which an → analogue → amplifier boosts the strength of a → signal. Also called → gain.
2) In → gravitational lensing, the ratio of the lensed brightness to unlensed brightness. This factor depends on the mass of the → lensing object and the closeness of the alignment between observer, lens, and source (→ impact parameter).

→ amplification; → factor.

In electronics, a device that converts the analog signal to → analog-to-digital units or counts.

→ analogue; → digital; → converter.

A function which can be represented by a convergent → power series.

→ analytic; → function.

A six-branch modification of the → Maxwell bridge that measures → inductance in terms of → resistance and → capacitance.

A. Anderson (1891, Phil. Mag. (5) 31, 329); → bridge.

The angle between the → incident ray of light entering an → optical system (such as a prism) and the → refracted ray that emerges from the system. Because of the different indices of refraction for the different wavelengths of visible light, the angle of deviation varies with wavelength.

→ angle; → deviation.

1) General: The angle between one plane and another, or the angle formed by a reference axis and a given line.
2) Binary systems: The angle between the plane of the orbit and the → plane of the sky.
3) Rotating stars: The angle between the → equatorial plane and the → plane of the sky.

→ angle; → inclination.

The angle between the light entering and exiting the prism when the light passing through the prism is parallel to the prism's base. Angle of minimum deviation (D) is used to measure the → index of refraction (n) of the prism glass, because: n = sin [(A + D)/2]/sin (A/2), where A is the → prism angle.

→ angle; → minimum; → deviation.

The angle between the reflected ray and the normal to the reflecting surface.

→ angle; → reflection.

The angle between the direction in which a ray is refracted and the normal to the refracting surface.

→ angle; → refraction.

The rate of change of → angular velocity. It is equal to the → first derivative of the → angular velocity: α = dω/dt =d²θ/dt² = a_t/r, where θ is the angle rotated, a_t is the linear tangential acceleration, and r is the radius of circular path.

→ angular; → acceleration.

The rate of change of the angles of emergence θ of various wavelengths from a dispersing prism: dθ/dλ.

→ angular; → dispersion.

Of a telescope, the smallest angle betwwen two → point sources that produces distinct images. It depends on both the wavelength at which observations are made and on the diameter of the telescope. Same as → spatial resolution.

→ angular; → resolution.

Same as → angular distance.

→ angular; → separation.