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

A two-dimensional geometric figure. The points of the figure lie entirely in a plane.

→ plane; → figure.

A mirror whose reflective surface is neither concave nor convex.

→ plane; → mirror.

In a → linearly polarized light, a plane perpendicular to the → plane of vibration and containing the direction of propagation of light. It is also the plane containing the direction of propagation and the magnetic vector (H) of the electromagnetic light wave.

→ plane; → polarization.

For a rotating object, the plane → perpendicular to the → rotation axis.

→ plane; → rotation.

An imaginary plane that is perpendicular to the → line of sight.

→ plane; → sky.

In a → linearly polarized light, a plane perpendicular to the → plane of polarization and containing the direction of propagation of light. It is also the plane containing the direction of propagation and the electric vector (E) of the electromagnetic light wave.

→ plane; → polarization.

Same as → linear polarization.

→ plane; → polarization.

Light exhibiting → plane polarization. Same as → linearly polarized light.

→ plane; → polarized; → light.

A wave whose wavefronts of constant phase are infinite parallel planes normal to the direction of propagation.

→ plane; → wave.

An approximation used in many stellar atmosphere models that depict the atmosphere as being only one-dimensional and bounded at the top and bottom by horizontal plane surfaces normal to the direction of gravity.

→ plane; → parallel; → atmosphere.

A piece of glass with plane parallel surfaces used to admit light into an optical system and to exclude dirt and moisture.

→ plane; → parallel; → plate.

An object with a mass greater than an → asteroid, but smaller than that of a → brown dwarf.

Short for planetary mass object; → planetary; → mass; → object.

1) A celestial body that: (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. → dwarf planet.
2) → extrasolar planet.

From O.E., from O.Fr. planete (Fr. planète), from L.L. planeta (plural form planetae), from Gk. planetes (single form) "wandering," from (asteres) planetai "wandering (stars)," from planasthai "to wander," of unknown origin.

Sayyâré, from Ar. saiyârat "walker, traveller."

A hypothetical large planet in the far outer → solar system the gravitational effects of which would explain the unexpected orbital configuration of a group of → trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). Trujillo & Sheppard (2014) noticed a clustering of the → argument of perihelion of bodies lying beyond ~150 → astronomical unit (AU), and attributed this to a hypothetical super-Earth body lying at several hundred AUs. Batygin & Brown (2016) showed numerically and analytically how the apsidal and nodal clustering of the distant TNOs arises as a result of resonant and secular dynamical effects from a distant perturber. They identified a range of semimajor axes (400-1500 AU) and eccentricities (0.5-0.8) for which a distant planet can explain the → orbital elements of the distant TNOs. The predicted planet would have a mass of 10 Earths (approximately 5,000 times the mass of → Pluto), a diameter of four times Earth and a highly elliptical orbit with an → orbital period of approximately 15,000 years.

→ planet; → nine.

1) A device that produces a representation of the heavens by the use of a number of moving projectors.
2) The building or room in which such a device is housed.

From → planet + -arium "a place for."

Âsmânnemâ, literally "sky displayer," from âsmân "sky" (Mid.Pers. âsmân "sky, heaven;" O.Pers. asman- "heaven;" Av. asman- "stone, sling-stone; heaven;" cf. Skt. áśman- "stone, rock, thunderbolt;" Gk. akmon "heaven, meteor, anvil;" Akmon was the father of Ouranos (Uranus), god of sky; Lith. akmuo "stone;" Rus. kamen; PIE base *akmon- "stone, sky." The link between the "stone" and "sky" concepts indicates that the sky had once been conceived as a stone vault by prehistoric Indo-Europeans) + nemâ "displayer," from nemudan "to show" (Mid.Pers. nimūdan, nimây- "to show," from O.Pers./Av. ni- "down; into" (Skt. ni "down," nitaram "downward," Gk. neiothen "from below," cf. E. nether, O.E. niþera, neoþera "down, downward, below, beneath," from P.Gmc. *nitheraz, Du. neder, Ger. nieder; PIE *ni- "down, below") + māy- "to measure;" cf. Skt. mati "measures," matra- "measure;" Gk. metron "measure;" L. metrum; PIE base *me- "to measure").
Âsmânxâné, literally "sky house," from âsmân + xâné "house" (Mid.Pers. xânak, xân, xôn; cf. L. cunae "cradle;" Gk. kome "village;" Pers. Aftari dialect kiye "house, home;" PIE base *kei- "bed; to lie, to settle; beloved" (other cognates: P.Gmc. *khaim-; O.E. ham "dwelling, house, village;" E. home; Ger. Heim; L. civis "townsman;" Fr. cité; E. city; Skt. śiva- "auspicious, dear").

Of, pertaining to, or resembling a planet or planets.

→ planet; → -ary.

The difference between the true position of a planet and its apparent position, due to the time required for light to travel the distance from the planet to Earth. Correction for planetary aberration is necessary in determining orbits.

→ planetary; → aberration.

A hot envelope of gas ejected from a central evolved star before becoming a → white dwarf. At the end of the → asymptotic giant phase the pulsating → red giant star is surrounded by an extended shell formed by the material ejected from it. As the evolved star contracts, its → effective temperature rises considerably. When it reaches about 30,000 K, the radiated photons become energetic enough to ionize the atoms in the nebula. The nebula becomes then visible in the optical. It shines essentially in a few → emission lines, produced by cascades during recombination or by collisional excitation with electrons. The central stars of planetary nebulae, → CSPNe, are typically 0.6 to 0.8 solar masses. They have → main sequence masses in the range 1 to 8 solar masses, with an average mass of 2.2 solar masses for a standard → initial mass function. Thus a total of about 1.6 solar masses is in average lost during the → AGB and planetary nebula phases. The life-time of planetary nebulae is relatively short. A typical planetary nebula lasts only a few 10,000 years.

→ planetary; → nebula. The name comes from the fact that these objects appear as planetary disks in a low-resolution telescope. The first planetary nebula, designated NGC 7009 or the → Saturn Nebula, was discovered in 1782 by the German-born English astronomer William Herschel (1738-1822), who described it as "planetary nebula."

The study of the structure, composition, as well as physical and chemical properties of the planets of the solar system, including their atmospheres and their immediate cosmic environment.

→ planetary; → physics.

The motion of the → ecliptic plane caused by the gravitational influence of the other planets, mainly → Jupiter. The observational effect of planetary precession is similar to that of the → lunisolar precession. But planetary precession causes the → equinoxes to move along the ecliptic in the opposition direction (eastward) from that of luni-solar precession (westward) and at a much slower rate: 0''.12 per year. Same as → precession of ecliptic.

→ planetary; → precession.