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

The method of combining the signals received by several smaller telescopes distributed over a very large area or baseline to provide the high angular resolution of a much large telescope.

→ aperture; → synthesis.

1) General: The highest point or level.
2) Mathematics: The highest point of a geometric figure or solid relative to some line or plane.
3) Astro.: Solar apex. The point on the celestial sphere toward which the Sun and the solar system are moving relative to the stars in our vicinity.

L. apex "summit, peak, tip," probably related to apere "to fasten, fix," hence "the tip of anything".

Cakâd "summit of a mountain; top, crown of the head, top of the forehead," from Mid.Pers. cakât "summit," cf. Skt. kakud-, kakuda- "peak, summit," L. cacumen "top, point," cumulus "heap."

The point in the orbit of a planet, or other object in the solar system, which is furthest from the Sun.

Aphelion, from L. aphelium, from Gk. → apo- + helios "sun," cognate with L. sol, Skt. surya, Av. hvar-, Mod.Pers. xor, hur, O.H.G. sunna, Ger. Sonne, E. sun; PIE *sawel- "sun".

Apâhur, from Pers. prefix apâ, → apo-, + hur "sun."

The distance between the → Sun and an → object in orbit around it when they are at their farthest approach.

→ perihelion; → distance.

A lens designed so as to minimize both its → spherical aberration and → coma.

→ aplanatism; → lens.

An → optical system that is able to produce an image essentially free from → spherical aberration and → coma. See also the → Abbe sine condition.

→ aplanatism; → system.

Freedom from spherical aberration and coma.

Aplanatism, from aplanatic, from a- "negation prefix" + Gk. plane "wandering," from planasthai "to wander" + -tic adjective-forming suffix.

Nâbirahi, from nâ- "negation prefix" + birah "a devious path; a wanderer, who deviates, errs," + -i noun affix.

Prefix meaning "away from, off; out of; without," ap- before a vowel or h.

From Gk. apo "away from, from;" cf. Av. apâ "away from, from."

Persian apâ- from Av. and O.Pers. apâ "away from, from". Compare with Skt. apa "away, off," L. ab- "from, away," Hittite appa, Gothic af-, Ger. ab-, E. of, off; PIE *apo- "off, away."

The point in an orbit where the moving body lies furthest from the celestial body around which it turns.

Apoapsis, from → apo- + → apsis.

Apâhabâk, from apâ-, → apo-, + habâk, → apsis.

The point on an elliptic orbit at the greatest distance from the principal focus or center of attraction.

Apocenter, from → apo- + → center.

Apâmarkaz, apâkayân, from apâ-, → apo-, + markaz or kayân, → center.

Same as → apochromatic lens.

Corrected for → spherical aberration at two wavelengths or colors and for → chromatic aberration at three wavelengths.

→ apo-; → chromatic.

A lens that is → apochromatic.

→ apochromatic; → lens.

An optical system that is → apochromatic.

→ apochromatic; → system.

The capacity of an optical system to bring three widely separated wavelengths of light into a single focus.

→ apochromatic; → -ism.

To bring the wavelengths of the spatially separate colors to a common focus.

→ apochromat; → -ize.

The point in a lunar orbit that is farthest from the center of the Lune. Also apolune.

Apocynthion, from → apo- "away from, off" + cynthion, from Gk. Cynthia "goddess of the Moon."

Apâmah, apâmâh, from apâ, → apo-, + mah, mâh, → Moon.

1) Generally, any process suppressing the secondary maxima of a diffraction pattern, such as the faint rings around the Airy disk of an optical image. This allows the telescope to resolve finer details.
2) Over a telescope aperture, the use of a screen that progressively cuts down, from the center to the edge of the aperture, the amount of light transmitted, in order to reduce diffraction.
3) A mathematical treatment carried out on data received from an interferometer before the Fourier transformation is calculated to obtain the spectrum.

Apodization from v. apodize, → a- "negation prefix" + pod from Gk. podos "foot" (compare with Pers. pâ, see below) + -tion "noun forming suffix;" literally "removing feet," i.e. suppressing the secondary maxima at the side of the Airy spot.

Pâzodâyi "removing feet," from pâ "foot," Mid.Pers. pâd, pây , Av. pad-, Skt. pat, Gk. pos, gen. podos, L. pes, gen. pedis, PIE *pod-/*ped-. Zodâyi, n. from zodudan "to polish, clean," Mid.Pers. uzdâtan, Av. uzdâ-, from uz-, → ex-, + dâ- "make, create."

The point on an elliptic orbit at the greatest distance from the principal focus. Also knwon as → apocenter.

From → apo- "away from, off," + → focus.

From apâ-, → apo-, + kânun→ focus.

Of or pertaining to an → apogalacticon.

→ apo-; → galactic.