Glossary

A an object. For example, the angular diameter of the

Moon is about 0.5°.
see a faint object better, although at a sacrifice of
sharpness.
absorption the process in which light or other azimuth a coordinate for locating objects on the
annular eclipse an eclipse in which the body in
electromagnetic radiation gives up its energy to sky. Azimuth is the angle measured eastward from
front does not completely cover the other. In an
an atom or molecule. For example, ozone in our due north to the point on the horizon below the
annular eclipse of the Sun, a bright ring of the
atmosphere absorbs ultraviolet radiation. object.
Sun’s disk remains visible around the black disk
absorption-line spectrum a spectrum showing of the Moon. We therefore see a ring (annulus) of
dark lines at some narrow color regions (wave- light around the Moon.
lengths). The lines are formed by atoms absorbing
anthropic principle the principle that the proper- B
light, which lifts their electrons to higher orbits.
ties we observe the Universe to possess are limited barred spiral galaxy a galaxy in which the spiral
acceleration a change in an object’s velocity to those that make our existence possible. arms wind out from the ends of a central bar rather
(either its speed or its direction). than from the nucleus.
antimatter a type of matter that, if brought into
accretion the addition of matter to a body. Exam- contact with ordinary matter, annihilates it, leaving belt a dark band in a Jovian planet’s atmosphere,
ples are gas falling onto a star and asteroids collid- nothing but energy. The positron is the antimatter encircling the planet. Gas in the belts appears to be
ing and sticking together. analog of the electron. The antiproton is the anti- descending and warming.
matter analog of the proton. Antimatter is observed
accretion disk a nearly flat disk of gas or other in cosmic rays and can be created from energy in Big Bang the event that, according to many astro-
material held in orbit around a body by its gravity. the laboratory. nomical theories, created the Universe. It occurred
about 13.7 billion years ago and generated the
achondrite a meteorite lacking chondrules, asso- aphelion the point in an orbit where a body is far- expanding motion that we observe today.
ciated with larger bodies whose gravity and inter- thest from the Sun.
nal heating has caused them to differentiate. binary stars two or more stars in orbit around each
association a loose grouping of young stars and other, held together by their mutual gravity.
active galaxy a galaxy whose central region emits interstellar matter.
abnormally large amounts of electromagnetic bipolar flow narrow columns of high-speed gas
radiation from a small volume. Examples are radio asterism an easily identified grouping of stars, ejected by a protostar in two opposite directions.
galaxies, Seyfert galaxies, and quasars. often part of a larger constellation. For example,
the Big Dipper. blackbody an object that is an ideal radiator when
adaptive optics a technique for adjusting a tele- hot and a perfect absorber when cool. It absorbs
scope’s mirror or other optical parts to compensate asteroid a small, generally rocky, solid body all radiation that falls upon it, reflecting no light;
for atmospheric distortions, such as seeing, thereby orbiting the Sun and ranging in diameter from a hence, it appears black. Stars are approximately
giving a sharper image. few meters to hundreds of kilometers. blackbodies. The radiation emitted by blackbodies
asteroid belt a region between the orbits of Mars obeys Wien’s law and the Stefan-Boltzmann law.
æther a substance at one time proposed to be the
substance that made it possible for light waves to and Jupiter in which most of the Solar System’s black hole an object whose gravitational attrac-
travel through otherwise empty space. asteroids are located. tion is so strong that its escape velocity equals the
astronomical unit (AU) a distance unit based on speed of light, preventing light or any radiation or
AGN active galactic nucleus. The core of an
the average distance of the Earth from the Sun. material body from leaving its “surface.”
active galaxy.
atmospheric window a wavelength band in which BL Lac object a type of active galaxy named for
alpha particle a helium nucleus: two protons plus
our atmosphere absorbs little radiation. For exam- the peculiar galaxy BL Lac. These objects gener-
(usually) two neutrons.
ple, on Earth the visible window ranges from about ally are strong radio sources, and their visible light
altitude an object’s angular distance above the 300 to 700 nanometers, allowing the light we can varies rapidly and erratically.
horizon. see with our eyes to pass through the atmosphere. blueshift a shift in the wavelength of electromag-
amino acid a carbon-based molecule used by liv- atom a submicroscopic particle consisting of a netic radiation to a shorter wavelength. For visible
ing organisms to build protein molecules. nucleus and orbiting electrons. The smallest unit of light, this implies a shift toward the blue end of the
a chemical element. spectrum. The shift can be caused by the motion
angstrom unit a unit of length used in describing of a source of radiation toward the observer or
wavelengths of radiation and the sizes of atoms aurora the light emitted by atoms and molecules by the motion of an observer toward the source.
and molecules. One angstrom = 10−10 meters. in the upper atmosphere. This light is a result of For example, the spectrum lines of a star mov-
magnetic disturbances caused by the solar wind. ing toward the Earth exhibit a blueshift. See also
angular momentum a measure of an object’s
Often called the northern or southern lights. Doppler shift.
tendency to keep rotating and to maintain its orien-
tation. Mathematically, it depends on the object’s autumnal equinox the autumn equinox in the Bode’s rule a numerical expression for the
mass, M, radius, R, and rotational velocity, V, and Northern Hemisphere. Fall begins on the autumnal approximate distances of most of the planets from
is proportional to MVR. equinox, which is on or near September 22. the Sun.

angular size a measure of how large an object averted vision looking slightly to one side of a Bok globule small, dark, interstellar cloud, often
looks to you. It is defined as the angle between dim object so that you see it slightly away from approximately spherical. Many globules are the
lines drawn from the observer to opposite sides of the center of your field of view. This allows you to early stages of protostars.

G-1

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 Glossary G-2

brown dwarf a star that has a mass too low for it comet a small body in orbit around the Sun, coronal hole a low-density region in the Sun’s
to begin nuclear fusion. consisting of a tiny, icy core and a tail of gas and corona. The solar wind may originate in these
dust. The tail forms only when the comet is near regions.
bulge the dense, central region of a spiral galaxy. the Sun.
cosmic horizon the maximum distance one can
C compact stars very dense stellar remnants or
“dead” stars whose radii are much smaller than the
see out into the Universe at a given time. The hori-
zon lies at a distance in light-years approximately
carbonaceous chondrite a type of meteorite con- Sun’s. These stars include white dwarfs, neutron equal to the age of the Universe in years.
taining many tiny spheres (chondrules) of rocky stars, and black holes.
or metallic material stuck together by carbon-rich cosmic microwave background (CMB) radia-
material. condensation conversion of free gas atoms or tion from the young Universe that began traveling
molecules into a liquid or solid. A snowflake forms through space after hot gas from the Big Bang
CCD charge-coupled device. An electronic device in our atmosphere when water vapor condenses expanded and cooled enough to become transpar-
that records the intensity of light falling on it. into ice. ent. The radiation is visible in all directions and
CCDs have replaced film in most astronomical appears to have a temperature of only 2.73 K
applications. conjunction the appearance of two astronomi-
because of the redshift caused by the expansion of
cal objects in approximately the same direction
the Universe.
celestial equator an imaginary line on the celes- on the sky. For example, if Mars and Jupiter
tial sphere lying exactly above the Earth’s equator. happen to appear near each other on the sky, cosmic rays extremely energetic particles (pro-
It divides the celestial sphere into northern and they are said to be in conjunction. Superior con- tons, electrons, and so forth) traveling at nearly the
southern hemispheres. junction refers to a planet that is approximately speed of light. Some rays are emitted by the Sun,
in line with the Sun but on the far side of the but most come from more-distant sources, perhaps
celestial pole an imaginary point on the celestial
Sun from the Earth. Inferior conjunction refers exploding supernovas.
sphere directly above the Earth’s North or South
to a planet that lies approximately between the
Pole. cosmological constant a term in the equations
Sun and the Earth.
that Einstein developed to describe the expansion
celestial sphere an imaginary sphere surrounding
conservation of angular momentum a principle of the Universe. The cosmological constant has the
the Earth representing the sky. Ancient astrono-
of physics stating that the angular momentum of effect of a repulsive “force” opposing gravity. See
mers pictured celestial objects as attached to it.
a rotating body remains constant unless forces act also dark energy.
Cepheid a class of yellow-giant pulsating stars. to speed it up or slow it down. Mathematically,
cosmological principle the hypothesis that, on
Their pulsation periods range from about 1 day to conservation of angular momentum states that MVR
average, the Universe looks the same to every
about 70 days. Cepheids can be used to determine is a constant, where M is the mass of a body mov-
observer, no matter where he or she is located in it.
distances. See also standard candle. ing with a velocity, V, in a circle of radius, R. One
extremely important consequence of this principle is cosmology the study of the structure and evolu-
Chandrasekhar limit the maximum mass of a
that if a rotating body shrinks, its rotational velocity tion of the Universe.
white dwarf above which it collapses. Approxi-
must increase.
mately 1.4 solar masses. Named for the astronomer crater a circular pit, generally with a raised rim
who first calculated that such a limit exists. conservation of energy a principle of physics and sometimes with a central peak. Crater diame-
stating that energy is never created or destroyed, ters on the Moon range from centimeters to several
chondrite a meteorite containing small spherical although it may change its form. For example,
grains called chondrules. hundred kilometers. Most craters on bodies such as
energy of motion may change into energy of heat. the Moon are formed by the impact of solid bod-
chondrule a small spherical grain embedded in a constellation a grouping of stars in the night sky. ies, such as asteroids.
meteorite. Astronomers divide the sky into 88 constellations.
critical density the minimum overall density of
chromosphere the lower part of the Sun’s outer continuous spectrum a spectrum with neither dark the Universe needed to provide enough gravity to
atmosphere that lies directly above the Sun’s vis- absorption nor bright emission lines. The intensity of make it eventually stop expanding and collapse. If
ible surface (photosphere). the radiation in such a spectrum changes smoothly the density is less than or equal to the critical den-
from one wavelength to the next. sity, the Universe will expand forever.
cluster a group of objects (stars, galaxies, and so
forth) held together by their mutual gravitational convection the rising and sinking motions in a crust the rigid surface of a planet, moon, or other
attraction. liquid or gas that carry heat upward through the solid body.
material. Convection is easily seen in a pan of
CNO cycle/process a reaction involving carbon, curvature of space the bending of space by a
heated soup on a stove.
nitrogen, and oxygen (C, N, and O) that fuses mass, as described according to Einstein’s general
hydrogen into helium and releases energy. The pro- convection zone the region immediately below theory of relativity. Black holes bend the space
cess begins with a hydrogen nucleus fusing with a the Sun’s visible surface in which its heat is car- around them, curving it so that the region within the
carbon nucleus. Subsequent steps involve nitrogen ried by convection. black hole is cut off from the rest of the Universe.
and oxygen. The carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen The Universe too may be curved in such a way as to
act as catalysts and are released at the end of the Coriolis effect a deflection of a moving object make its volume finite.
process to start the cycle again. The CNO cycle caused by its motion across the surface of a rotating
is the dominant process for generating energy in body. The Coriolis effect makes storms on Earth curvature of the Universe the overall curvature of
main-sequence stars that are hotter and more mas- spin, generates large-scale wind systems, and creates space in the Universe produced by a combination of
sive than the Sun. cloud belts on many of the planets. all its matter and energy. The Universe appears to be
very close to the critical density, at which there is no
coma the gaseous atmosphere surrounding the corona the outer, hottest part of the Sun’s overall curvature, a condition astronomers describe
head of a comet. atmosphere. as a “flat” Universe.

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 G-3 Glossary

D core while low-density material floats to the

surface.
or partially blocking the background star from
view as seen from Earth.
dark adaption the process by which the eye diffraction a bending of the path of light (or other ecliptic the path that the Sun appears to make
changes to become more sensitive to dim light. electromagnetic waves) as it passes through an around the celestial sphere as the Earth moves
dark energy a form of energy (or a cosmological opening or around an obstacle. Diffraction limits along its orbit. The path gets its name because
constant) detected by its effect on the expansion the ability to distinguish fine details in images. eclipses can occur only when the Moon crosses the
of the Universe. It causes the expansion to speed ecliptic.
disk the flat, round portion of a galaxy. The Sun
up. The nature and properties of dark energy are lies in the disk of the Milky Way. electric charge the electrical property of
unknown.
objects that causes them to attract or repel one
dispersion the spreading of light or other elec-
dark matter matter that emits no detectable another. A charge may be either positive or
tromagnetic radiation into a spectrum. A rainbow
radiation but whose presence can be deduced by its negative.
is an example of dispersion of light caused by
gravitational attraction on other bodies. raindrops. electric force the force generated by electric
dark nebula a dense cloud of dust and gas in charges. It is attractive between unlike charges
DNA deoxyribonucleic acid. The complex mole-
interstellar space that blocks the light from back- (+−) but repulsive between like charges (++
cule that encodes genetic information in all organ-
ground stars. or −−).
isms here on Earth.
daughter atoms the atoms produced by the decay electromagnetic force the force arising between
Doppler shift the change in the observed wave-
of a radioactive element. For example, uranium electrically charged particles or between charges
length of radiation caused by the motion of the
decays into lead. These lead atoms are daughter and magnetic fields. Forces between magnets
emitting body or the observer. The shift is an
atoms. are a special case of this force. This force holds
increase in the wavelength if the source and
electrons to the nucleus of atoms, makes moving
daylight saving time the time kept during observer move apart and a decrease in the wave-
charges spiral around magnetic field lines, and
summer months by setting the clock ahead one length if the source and observer approach. See
deflects a compass needle.
hour. This gives more hours of daylight after the also redshift and blueshift.
workday. electromagnetic radiation a general term for any
Drake equation a formula, named after the
kind of electromagnetic wave.
declination one part of a coordinate system for astronomer who proposed it, used to estimate the
locating objects in the sky north or south of the number of civilizations that might be present in electromagnetic spectrum the assemblage of all
celestial equator. Declination is analogous to lati- the Milky Way that are capable of communicating wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation. The spec-
tude on the Earth’s surface. with us. trum includes the following wavelengths, from long
to short: radio, microwave, infrared, visible light,
degeneracy pressure the pressure created dust tail a comet tail containing dust that reflects
ultraviolet, X rays, and gamma rays.
in a dense gas by the interaction of its elec- sunlight. The dust in a comet tail is expelled from
trons. Degeneracy pressure does not depend on the nucleus of the comet. electromagnetic wave a wave consisting of
temperature. alternating electric and magnetic energy. Ordinary
dwarf a small, dim star.
visible light is an electromagnetic wave, and the
degenerate gas an extremely dense gas in which dwarf planet an object that orbits the Sun and is wavelength determines the light’s color.
the electrons and nuclei are tightly packed. The massive enough that its gravity compresses it into
pressure of a degenerate gas does not depend on its electron a low-mass, negatively charged sub-
an approximately spherical shape. However, it has
temperature. atomic particle. Electrons orbit the atomic
not swept its orbital region clear of other objects of
nucleus but may at times be torn free. See also
density the mass of a body or region divided by comparable mass.
ionization.
its volume. dynamo model a proposed physical process for
element a fundamental substance, such as hydro-
density-wave model a theory to account for the generating magnetic fields in astronomical bodies.
gen, carbon, or oxygen, that cannot be broken
spiral arms of galaxies. According to the theory, The process involves the generation of electric
down into a simpler chemical substance. Approxi-
waves of higher density traveling through the disk currents from an interaction between rotation and
mately 100 elements occur in nature.
of a galaxy pull stars and interstellar gas into a convection in an electrically conductive liquid.
spiral pattern. ellipse a geometric figure related to a circle but

deuterium a form of hydrogen in which the

E flattened into an oval shape.

nucleus contains a neutron in addition to a proton. elliptical galaxy a galaxy in which the stars
eclipse the blockage of light from one astronomi-
Sometimes called “heavy hydrogen.” smoothly fill an ellipsoidal volume. Abbreviated
cal body caused by the passage of another between
E galaxy. The stars in such systems are generally
it and the observer. The shadow of one astronomi-
differential gravitational force the difference old (Pop II).
cal body falling on another. For example, the pas-
between the gravitational forces exerted on an
sage of the Moon between the Earth and Sun can emission the production of light, or more gener-
object at two different points. The effect of this
block the Sun’s light and cause a solar eclipse. ally, electromagnetic radiation by an atom or other
force is to stretch the object. Such forces create
object.
tides and, if strong enough, may break up an astro- eclipse seasons the times of year, separated by
nomical object. See also Roche limit. about 6 months, when eclipses are possible. At emission-line spectrum a spectrum consisting
any given eclipse season, both a solar eclipse and a of bright lines at certain wavelengths separated by
differentiation the separation of previously
lunar eclipse generally occur. dark regions in which there is no light.
mixed materials inside a planet or other object.
This is the same separation that occurs when a eclipsing binary a binary star pair in which one emission nebula a hot gas cloud in interstellar
dense material, such as iron, settles to the planet’s star periodically passes in front of the other, totally space that emits light.

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 Glossary G-4

energy a measure of the ability of a system to do fission the splitting of an atomic nucleus into two general relativity Einstein’s theory of grav-
work or cause motion. or more smaller nuclei. ity. The theory describes how mass and energy
“curve” space and time so that objects move
energy level any of the numerous orbitals that flare an outburst of energy on the Sun. See also
along the paths described by the gravitational
an electron can occupy in an atom or molecule, solar flare.
“force.”
roughly corresponding to an electron orbit.
flat universe a universe that extends forever with
geocentric models models of the Solar Sys-
epicycle a fictitious, small, and circular orbit no curvature. Its total energy is zero.
tem centered on the Earth. Many of the earli-
superimposed on another circular orbit and pro-
fluorescence the conversion of ultraviolet light (or est attempts to describe the Solar System were
posed by early astronomers to explain the retro-
other short-wavelength radiation) into visible light. geocentric in that they supposed that the planets
grade motion of the planets.
moved around the Earth rather than around the
focus (1) one of two points within an ellipse used Sun.
equator the imaginary line that divides the Earth
to generate the elliptical shape. Planets orbit along
(or other body) symmetrically into its northern and
ellipses with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse. giant a star of large radius and large luminosity.
southern hemispheres. The equator is perpendicu-
(2) a point in an optical system in which light rays
lar to a body’s rotation axis. glitches abrupt changes in the pulsation period
are brought together. The location where an image
of a pulsar, perhaps as the result of adjustments of
equinox the time of year when the Sun appears forms in such systems.
its crust.
to cross the celestial equator. At this time,
frequency the number of times per second that a
the number of hours of daylight and night are global warming a phenomenon in which the
wave vibrates.
approximately equal. The vernal and autumnal Earth’s surface temperature has been observed
equinoxes mark the beginning of the spring and fundamental forces the four basic forces of to increase significantly over the last century.
fall seasons. nature: gravitation, electromagnetism, the weak Most scientists attribute the change to increasing
force, and the strong force. Electromagnetism levels of gases that cause the greenhouse effect,
escape velocity the speed needed for an object
and the weak force are now recognized to both released by human activities such as burning fos-
to travel away from another body to overcome its
be part of an “electroweak” force. According to sil fuels and deforestation.
gravitational attraction and not be pulled back.
some modern theories, all of the forces are differ-
Mathematically,
_______
the escape velocity, Vesc, is defined globular cluster a dense grouping of old stars,
ent forms of a single, more fundamental, unified
as √2GM/R where M is the body’s mass, R is its containing generally about 105 to 106 members.
force.
radius, and G is the gravitational constant. They are often found in the halos of galaxies.

eukaryotes cells with nuclei. Most cells in cur- G globule See Bok globule.
rent terrestrial organisms have nuclei and are thus
Gaia hypothesis the hypothesis that life does not granulation texture seen in the Sun’s photo-
eukaryotes.
merely respond to its environment but actually sphere. Granulation is created by clumps of hot gas
Evening Star the planet Venus seen low in the alters its planet’s atmosphere and temperature to that rise to the Sun’s surface.
western sky after sunset. (Sometimes used for make the planet more hospitable. For example, by grating a piece of material that creates a spectrum
other bright planets.) photosynthesis, plants have created an oxygen-rich by reflecting light from, or passing it through,
event horizon the location of the “boundary” of a atmosphere on Earth, which shields the plants many very fine and closely spaced parallel lines.
black hole. An outside observer cannot see in past from dangerous ultraviolet radiation.
gravitational lens an object that bends space (and
the event horizon. galactic cannibalism the capture and merging of thereby the light passing through the space) by
excited the condition in which the electrons of an one galaxy into another. its gravitational attraction and focuses the light to
atom are not in their lowest energy level (orbit). galaxy a massive system of stars held together by create an image of a more distant object. See also
their mutual gravity. Typical galaxies have a mass curvature of space.
exclusion principle the condition that no more
than two electrons may occupy the same energy between about 107 and 1013 solar masses. Our Gal- gravitational lensing the bending of light from a
state in an atom. This limitation leads to degen- axy is the Milky Way. distant object to form an image, usually strongly
eracy pressure. galaxy cluster a group of galaxies held together distorted by the gravitation of a mass between the
by their mutual gravitational attraction. The Milky distant object and the observer. See gravitational
exoplanet a planet not orbiting our Sun.
Way belongs to the Local Group galaxy cluster. lens.

F Galilean relativity a method for determining gravitational redshift the shift in wavelength
of electromagnetic radiation (light) created by a
the relative speeds of motion seen by observers
false-color picture/photograph a depiction of moving with respect to each other. This method body’s gravitational field as the radiation moves
an astronomical object in which the colors are not works satisfactorily for motions at low speed, away from the body. Only extremely dense objects,
the object’s real colors. Instead, they are colors but it fails when the speed becomes an appre- such as white dwarfs, produce a significant redshift
arbitrarily chosen to represent other properties of ciable fraction of the speed of light. of their radiation.
the body, such as the intensity of radiation, that we
Galilean satellites the four moons of Jupiter gravitational waves a wavelike bending of space
cannot see.
discovered by Galileo: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and generated by the acceleration of massive bodies.
Fermi paradox an argument that we are probably Callisto. gravity the force of attraction that is between two
the only technological civilization that has ever
bodies and is generated by their masses.
arisen in the Milky Way. Fermi suggested that if gas giant a planet that grew largely by gravita-
any such civilization had existed, it would have tionally attracting gas from the disk of gas out of greatest elongation the position of an inner
covered the whole Galaxy in a time much shorter which a planetary system forms. Jupiter and Saturn planet (Mercury or Venus) when it lies farthest
than the evolution of humans. are thought to be gas giants. from the Sun on the sky. Mercury and Venus are

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 G-5 Glossary

particularly easy to see when they are at greatest Hubble’s law a relation between a galaxy’s dis- international date line an imaginary line from
elongation. Objects may be at greatest eastern or tance, d, and its recession velocity, V, which states the Earth’s North to South Pole, running approxi-
western elongation according to whether they lie that more distant galaxies recede faster than nearby mately down the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
east or west of the Sun. ones. Mathematically, V = Hd, where H is the It marks the location on Earth at which the date
Hubble constant. changes.
greenhouse effect the trapping of heat by a
planet’s atmosphere, making the planet warmer hydrogen burning nuclear fusion of hydrogen interstellar cloud a cloud of gas and dust in
than would otherwise be expected. Generally into helium. It is not “burning” like ordinary fire between the stars. Such clouds may be many light-
the greenhouse effect operates if visible sunlight but is instead the transformation of one kind of years in diameter.
passes freely through a planet’s atmosphere atom into another accompanied by the release of
interstellar grains microscopic solid dust par-
but the infrared radiation produced by the energy.
ticles in interstellar space. These grains absorb
warm surface cannot escape readily into space,
hydrostatic equilibrium the condition in which starlight, making distant stars appear dimmer and
because of gases such as carbon dioxide or
pressure and gravitational forces in a star or planet redder than they truly are.
water vapor.
are in balance. Without such balance, bodies will
interstellar matter matter in the form of gas or
Great Red Spot a reddish colored region in Jupi- either collapse or expand.
dust in the space between stars.
ter’s atmosphere, larger than the Earth. It appears
hypothesis an explanation proposed to account for
to be a stable atmospheric vortex, having been inverse-square law (1) any law in which some
some set of observations or facts.
seen since some of the earliest telescopic observa- property varies inversely as the square of the
tions in the 1600s.
I distance, d. Mathematically, as 1/ d 2. (2) the
law stating that the apparent brightness of a
Gregorian calendar the calendar devised at the
ice giant a large, gas-rich planet that grew primar- body decreases inversely as the square of its
request of Pope Gregory XIII and essentially the
ily through the accretion of ice-rich planetesimals. distance.
civil calendar used throughout the world today. It
omits the leap year for century years not divisible Uranus and Neptune are thought to be ice giants.
ion tail a stream of ionized particles evaporated
evenly by 400. ideal gas law See perfect gas law. from a comet and then swept away from the Sun
by the solar wind.
H inclination the tilt angle of an astronomical
ionization the removal of one or more electrons
object’s spin or its orbit.
H ii region a region of ionized hydrogen. H ii from an atom, leaving the atom with a positive
regions generally have a pink/red glow and often inertia the tendency of an object at rest to remain electric charge. Under some circumstances an
surround luminous, hot, young stars. at rest and of a body in motion to continue in extra electron may be attached to an atom, in
motion in a straight line at a constant speed. See which case the atom is described as negatively
halo the approximately spherical region sur- also mass. ionized.
rounding spiral galaxies that contains mainly old
stars, such as the globular clusters. The halo also inferior conjunction See conjunction. ionized a condition in which the number of an
contains large amounts of dark matter. atom’s electrons does not equal the number of its
inferior planet a planet whose orbit lies between
the Earth’s orbit and the Sun. Mercury and Venus protons. Typically, this means the atom is missing
Hawking radiation radiation that black holes are
are inferior planets. one or more electrons.
hypothesized to emit as a result of quantum effects.
This radiation leads to the extremely slow evapora- irregular galaxy a galaxy lacking a symmetric
inflation the rapid expansion of the early Uni-
tion of black holes. structure.
verse by an enormous factor.
heliocentric models models of the Solar Sys-
infrared a wavelength of electromagnetic radia-
tem centered on the Sun. Compare to geocentric
models.
tion longer than visible light but shorter than radio J
waves. We cannot see these wavelengths with
our eyes, but we can feel many of them as heat. jets narrow streams of gas ejected from any
helium flash the beginning of helium fusion in a
The infrared wavelength region runs from about of several types of astronomical objects. Jets
low-mass star. The fusion begins explosively and
700 nm to 1 mm. are seen near protostars and in many active
causes a major readjustment of the star’s structure.
galaxies.
highlands the old, heavily cratered regions on the inner core the innermost part of a planet, also
Moon. called the solid core. The Earth’s inner core is a jet stream a narrow stream of high-speed wind
mixture of solid iron and nickel. that blows in the atmosphere of a planet. Such
horizon the line separating the sky from the winds occur on Earth and many other planets.
ground. See also cosmic horizon. inner planet a planet orbiting in the inner part of
the Solar System. Sometimes taken to mean Mer- joule a unit of energy. Expending one joule per
H-R diagram a graph on which stars are located second equals one watt of power.
cury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
according to their temperature and luminosity.
Most stars on such a plot lie along a diagonal line, instability strip a region in the H-R diagram indi- Jovian planet one of the giant, gaseous planets:
called the main sequence, which runs from cool, cating stars that pulsate. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, or most
dim stars in the lower right, to hot, luminous stars exoplanets. The name Jovian was chosen because
interferometer a device consisting of two or more the structure of Jupiter (or Jove) is representative
in the upper left.
telescopes connected together to work as a single of the others.
Hubble constant the multiplying constant H in instrument. Used to obtain a high resolving power,
Hubble’s law, V = Hd. The reciprocal of the Hub- the ability to see small-scale features. Interferom- Julian calendar a 12-month calendar devised
ble constant (in appropriate units) is approximately eter telescopes have been contructed operating at under the direction of Julius Caesar. It includes a
the age of the Universe. radio, infrared, and visible wavelengths. leap year every four years.

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 Glossary G-6

K is usually measured in units of the Sun’s luminos-

ity (approximately 4 ×1026 watts).
mean solar day the standard 24-hour day. The
mean solar day is based on the average day length
Kepler’s three laws laws that describe the motion over a year. (The time interval from solar noon to
lunar eclipse the passage of the Earth between
of planets around the Sun. The first law states solar noon varies slightly throughout the year.)
the Sun and the Moon so that the Earth’s shadow
that planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun
falls on the Moon. megaparsec a distance unit equal to 1 million par-
off-center at a focus of the ellipse. The second law
secs and abbreviated Mpc.
states that a line joining the planet and the Sun
sweeps out equal areas in equal times. The third
M metal astronomically, any chemical element more
law relates a planet’s orbital period, P, to the semi- MACHO (massive compact halo object) any massive than helium. Thus, carbon, oxygen, iron,
major axis of its elliptical orbit, a. Mathematically, body of planetary or stellar mass orbiting in the and so forth are called metals.
the law states that P 2 = a 3, if P is measured in Milky Way’s halo that produces very little detect-
meteor the bright trail of light created by small
years and a in astronomical units. able light. These objects have been hypothesized
solid particles entering the Earth’s atmosphere and
to be a significant part of the Milky Way’s dark
Kirkwood gaps regions in the asteroid belt with burning up. A “shooting star.”
matter.
fewer than the average number of asteroids. The
meteor shower an event in which many meteors
gaps result from the gravitational force of Jupiter Magellanic Clouds two small companion galax-
occur in a short space of time, all from the same
removing asteroids whose orbits have periods that ies of the Milky Way.
general direction in the sky. The most famous
are a simple fraction of Jupiter’s period.
magnetic field a representation of the means by shower is the Perseids in mid-August.
Kuiper belt a region from which some comets which magnetic forces are transmitted from one
meteorite the solid remains of a meteor that falls
come. The region appears to extend from the body to another. A compass needle points along
to the Earth.
orbit of Neptune, past Pluto, out to approximately the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field.
55 AU. meteoroid the technical name for the small, solid
magnetic lines of force fictitious lines used to
bodies moving within the Solar System. When a
L visualize the orientation and strength of a magnetic
field.
meteoroid enters our atmosphere and heats up, the
trail of luminous gas it leaves is called a meteor.
late heavy bombardment a period about When the body lands on the ground, it is called a
magnitude a unit for measuring stellar brightness.
600 million years after the Solar System formed meteorite. (“A meteoroid is in the void. A meteor
The smaller the magnitude, the brighter the star.
when there appears to have been a high level of above you soars. A meteorite is in your sight.”)
impact cratering events. main sequence the region in the H-R diagram in
which most stars, including the Sun, are located. method of standard candles See standard
law of gravity a description of the gravitational candle.
The main sequence runs diagonally across the
force exerted by one body on another. The gravi-
H-R diagram from cool, dim stars to hot, luminous
tational force is proportional to the product of Milky Way Galaxy the Galaxy to which the Sun
ones. Stars on the main sequence fuse hydrogen
the bodies’ masses and the inverse square of their belongs. Seen from Earth, the Galaxy is a pale,
into helium in their cores. See also H-R diagram.
separation. If the masses are M and m and their milky-white band in the night sky.
separation is d, the force between them, F, is main-sequence lifetime the time a star remains a
Miller-Urey experiment an experimental attempt
F = GMm∕d 2, where G is a physical constant. main-sequence star, fusing hydrogen into helium
to simulate the conditions under which life might
in its core.
light electromagnetic energy. have developed on Earth. Miller and Urey discov-
mantle the solid, outer part of a planet. This part ered that amino acids and other complex organic
light-gathering power a measure of the ability compounds could form from the gases that are
is immediately below the crust and may flow very
of a telescope (or other device) to collect light. It thought to have been present in the Earth’s early
slowly due to heat rising from the core.
is generally proportional to the area of the tele- atmosphere, if the gases are subjected to an elec-
scope’s mirror or lens. For example, a telescope mare a vast, smooth, dark, and congealed lava tric spark or ultraviolet radiation.
with a 6-inch diameter lens has a four times larger flow filling a basin on the Moon and on some plan-
light-gathering power than a telescope with a ets. Many maria have roughly circular shapes. millisecond pulsar a pulsar whose rotation period
3-inch diameter lens. is about a millisecond.
maria plural of mare.
light-year a unit of distance equal to the distance minute of arc a measure of angle equal to one-
light travels in one year. A light-year is roughly maser an intense radio source created when sixtieth of a degree.
1013 km, or about 6 trillion miles. excited gas amplifies some background radiation.
Maser stands for microwave amplification by model a theoretical representation of some object
liquid core the molten interior of a planet, also stimulated emission of radiation. or system.
called the outer core.
mass a measure of the amount of material an molecule two or more atoms bonded into a single
Local Group the small cluster or group of several object contains. A quantity measuring a body’s particle, such as water, H2O (two hydrogen atoms
dozen galaxies to which the Milky Way belongs. inertia. bonded to one oxygen) or carbon dioxide, CO2
(one carbon atom bonded to two oxygen atoms).
Lorentz factor a term that designates how much mass–luminosity relation a relation between
an object’s time, space, and mass are altered as a the mass and luminosity of main-sequence stars. Moon illusion the illusion in which the Moon
result of its motion. The factor is very close to 1 Higher-mass stars have higher luminosity. appears larger when near the horizon than when
except at speeds approaching the speed of light. seen high in the sky.
Maunder minimum the time period, from about
luminosity the amount of energy radiated per a.d. 1600 to 1740, during which the Sun was rela- Morning Star the planet Venus seen in the east-
second by a body. For example, the wattage of a tively inactive. Few sunspots were observed during ern sky before dawn. (Sometimes applied to other
lightbulb defines its luminosity. Stellar luminosity this period. bright planets.)

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 G-7 Glossary

N nova a process in which a surface layer of hydro-

gen builds up on a white dwarf and then fuses
thus shields us from, the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet
radiation.
nanometer a unit of length equal to 1 billionth explosively into helium, making the white dwarf
visible for a few weeks. Nova explosions do not
of a meter (10−9 meters) and abbreviated nm.
Wavelengths of visible light are several hundred destroy the white dwarf and may be recurrent. P
nanometers. The diameter of a hydrogen atom is nuclear fusion the binding of two light nuclei to panspermia a theory that life originated else-
roughly 0.1 nm. form a heavier nucleus, with some nuclear mass where than on Earth and came here across inter-
converted to energy. For example, the fusion of stellar space either accidently or deliberately.
neap tide the abnormally small tide occurring
when the Sun’s and Moon’s gravitational effects on hydrogen into helium. This process supplies the parallax the shift in an object’s position caused
the ocean partially offset each other. energy of most stars and is commonly called by the observer’s motion. A method for finding
“burning” by astronomers. distances based on that shift.
near-Earth object an asteroid with an orbit that
crosses Earth’s orbit or comes close to it. nucleosynthesis the formation of elements, gener- parsec a unit of distance equal to about 3.26
ally by the fusion of lighter elements into heavier light-years (3.09 × 1013 km), defined as the dis-
nebula a cloud in interstellar space. ones. For example, the formation of carbon by the tance at which an observer sees the maximum
negative curvature a form of curved space some- fusion of three helium nuclei. angle between the Sun and the Earth to be one arc
times described as being “open” in that it has no nucleus the core of an atom around which the second.
boundary. Negative curvature is analogous to a electrons orbit. The nucleus has a positive electric perfect gas law a law relating the pressure, den-
saddle shape. charge and constitutes most of an atom’s mass. sity, and temperature of a gas. It states that the
neutrinos tiny neutral particles with little or no nucleus of a comet the core, typically a few kilo- pressure is proportional to the density times the
mass and immense penetrating power. These par- meters across, of frozen gases and dust that make temperature. This is also called the ideal gas law.
ticles are produced in great numbers by the Sun up the solid part of a comet. perihelion the point in an orbit closest to the Sun.
and other stars as they fuse hydrogen into helium,
and also by supernova explosions. nucleus of a galaxy the central region of a galaxy, period the time required for a repetitive pro-
often containing a supermassive black hole. cess to repeat. For example, orbital period is
neutron a subatomic particle of nearly the same
the time it takes a planet or star to complete an
mass as the proton but with no electric charge.
Neutrons and protons compose the nuclei of
O orbit. Pulsation period is the time it takes a star
to expand and then contract back to its original
atoms. Olbers’ paradox an argument that in an infinite
radius.
Universe, the sky should be bright at night, filled
neutron star a very dense, compact star com-
with the light from many distant stars and galaxies. period–luminosity relation a law stating that the
posed primarily of neutrons.
longer the period of a pulsating variable star, the
Oort cloud a vast region in which comet nuclei
Newton’s first law of motion the law that a body more luminous it is.
orbit. This cloud lies far beyond the orbit of
continues in a state of rest or uniform motion in a
Neptune. phases the changing illumination of the Moon or
straight line unless made to change that state by
other body that causes the body’s apparent shape
forces acting on it. See also inertia. opacity the blockage of light or other electromag-
to change. The following is the cycle of lunar
netic radiation by matter.
Newton’s second law of motion F = ma. In phases: new, crescent, first quarter, gibbous, full,
words, the amount of acceleration, a, that a force, open cluster a loose cluster of stars, generally gibbous, third quarter, crescent, new.
F, produces depends on the mass, m, of the object containing a few hundred members.
photo dissociation the breaking apart of a mol-
being accelerated.
opposition the configuration of a planet when it is ecule by intense radiation.
Newton’s third law of motion the law that when opposite the Sun in the sky. If a planet is in opposi-
photon a particle of visible light or other electro-
two bodies interact, they exert equal and opposite tion, it rises when the Sun sets and sets when the
magnetic radiation.
forces on each other. Sun rises.
photosphere the visible surface of the Sun. When
nonthermal radiation radiation emitted by orbit the path in space followed by a celestial
we look at the Sun in the sky, we are seeing its
charged particles moving at high speed in a body.
photosphere.
magnetic field. The radio emission from pulsars
orbital a description of an electron’s possible
and radio galaxies is nonthermal emission. More Planck time the brief interval of time, about 10−43
location in an atom as it “orbits” the nucleus. At
generally, nonthermal means “not due to high second immediately after the Big Bang, when
these tiny scales, the electron’s position can be
temperature.” quantum fluctuations are so large that current
described only in terms of probabilities, due to the
theories of gravity can no longer describe space
north celestial pole the point on the celestial wave nature of matter.
and time.
sphere directly above the Earth’s North Pole.
outer core the molten interior of a planet; also
Objects on the sky appear to circle around this planet a body in orbit around a star that is large
called the liquid core.
point. enough to have taken on a round shape, and that
outer planet a planet whose orbit lies in the outer has cleared the path of its orbit of all bodies of
North Star any star that happens to lie very
part of the Solar System. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, comparable size.
close to the north celestial pole. Polaris has been
and Neptune are outer planets.
the North Star for about 1000 years, and it will planetary nebula a shell of gas ejected by a low-
continue as such for about another 1000 years, at ozone a form of oxygen consisting of three oxy- mass star late in its evolutionary lifetime. A plan-
which time a star in Cepheus will be nearer the gen atoms bonded together. Its chemical symbol etary nebula typically appears as a glowing gas
north celestial pole. is O3. The ozone in our atmosphere absorbs, and ring around a central white dwarf.

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 Glossary G-8

planetesimal one of the numerous small, solid Sun and thereby generates their energy. This is the recession velocity the velocity of an external gal-
bodies that, when accreted together, form a planet. dominant energy-generation mechanism in cool, axy (or other object) away from our Galaxy due to
low-mass stars. the expansion of the Universe.
plate tectonics the idea that the crust of the
Earth (or some other planet) is divided into large protoplanetary disk a disk of gas and dust sur- recombination era a period of time about
regions (plates) that move very slowly over the rounding a young star out of which planetary 400,000 years after the Big Bang when matter
planet’s surface. Interaction between plates at their systems form. cooled enough for electrons to combine with
boundaries creates mountains and activity such as nuclei to form neutral atoms.
protostar a star still in its formation stage, heated
earthquakes.
by gravitational contraction. reddening the alteration in a star’s color as seen
polarity the property of a magnet that causes it to from Earth as the star’s light passes through an
pulsar a spinning neutron star that emits beams
have a north and south pole. intervening interstellar dust cloud. The dust prefer-
of radiation that happen to sweep across the Earth
entially scatters the blue light from the beam, leav-
population (Pop) I the younger stars, some of each time the star spins. We observe the radiation
ing the remaining light redder.
which are blue, that populate a galaxy’s disk, espe- as regularly spaced pulses.
cially its spiral arms. red giant a cool, luminous star whose radius is
pulsate to expand and contract regularly. For
much larger than the Sun’s.
population (Pop) II the older, redder stars that example, pulsating variable stars swell and shrink
populate a galaxy’s halo and bulge. in a predictable, regular fashion. redshift a shift in the wavelength of electro-
magnetic radiation to a longer wavelength. For
population (Pop) III a hypothetical stellar popu-
lation consisting of the first stars that formed in a Q visible light, this implies a shift toward the red
end of the spectrum. The shift can be caused
galaxy, composed of only hydrogen and helium.
quantized the property of a system that allows it by a source of radiation moving away from the
positive curvature bending of space leading to a to have only discrete values. observer or by the observer moving away from
finite volume. A space that is “closed.” A universe the source. For example, if a star is moving
quark a fundamental particle of matter that away from Earth, its spectrum lines exhibit a
with positive curvature is analogous to a spherical
interacts via the strong force; basic constituent of redshift. See also Doppler shift.
shape.
protons and neutrons.
positron a subatomic antimatter particle with the reflection nebula an interstellar cloud in which
quasar a peculiar galaxy characterized by a the dust particles reflect starlight, making the
same mass as the electron but a positive electric
large redshift, high luminosity, and an extremely cloud visible.
charge. An electron’s antiparticle.
small, active core. Quasars are among the most
precession the slow change in direction of the luminous and most distant objects known to reflector a telescope that uses a mirror to collect
pole (rotation axis) of a spinning body or of the astronomers. and focus light.
orientation of an orbit.
refraction the bending of light when it passes
pressure the force exerted by a substance such as R through one substance and enters another.
a gas on an area divided by that area. That is, pres-
radial velocity the velocity of a body along the refractor a telescope that uses a lens to collect
sure × area = force.
line of sight. That is, the part of its motion directly and focus light.
principle of equivalence an idea developed by toward or away from the observer.
Einstein to understand that gravity is equivalent to regolith the surface rubble of broken rock on the
radiant the point in the sky from which mete- Moon or other solid body.
an accelerating frame of reference.
ors in showers appear to come. See also meteor
prokaryotes cells without nuclei. The first showers. resolving power the ability of a telescope or
lifeforms on Earth were prokaryotes. instrument to discern fine details. Larger-diameter
radiation pressure the force exerted by radiation telescopes have greater (that is, better) resolving
prominence a cloud of hot gas in the Sun’s outer on matter. power.
atmosphere. This cloud is often shaped like an radiative zone the region inside a star where its
arch, supported by the Sun’s magnetic field. resonance a condition in which the repetitive
energy is carried outward by radiation (that is, by
motion of one body interacts with the repetitive
proper motion shift of a star’s position on the photons).
motion of another so as to reinforce the motion.
celestial sphere, in other words, motion perpendic- radioactive decay the breakdown of an atomic Sliding back and forth in a bathtub to make a big
ular to our line of sight. This motion is normally so nucleus by the emission of subatomic particles. splash is an example.
gradual that thousands of years must pass before
changes become noticeable to the unaided eye. radioactive element an element that undergoes rest frame a system of coordinates that appear to
radioactive decay and breaks down into a lighter be at rest with respect to the observer.
protein any of many complex organic molecules element.
composed of a chain of amino acids. Proteins serve retrograde motion the drift of a planet westward
many functions in cells, including structure and radio galaxy a galaxy, usually an elliptical, that against the background stars. Normally planets
metabolism. emits abnormally large amounts of radio energy shift eastward because of their orbital motion. The
from huge lobes of hot gas ejected from the planet does not actually reverse its motion. The
proton a positively charged subatomic particle. galaxy. change in its direction is caused by the change in
One of the constituents of the nucleus of an atom the position from which we view the planet as the
along with neutrons. rays long, narrow, light-colored markings on the
Earth overtakes and passes it.
Moon or other bodies that radiate from young cra-
proton–proton chain the nuclear fusion process ters. Rays are debris “splashed” out of the crater by rifting the breaking apart of a continental
that converts hydrogen into helium in stars like the the impact that formed it. plate.

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 G-9 Glossary

right ascension a coordinate for locating studied and leads to invalid conclusions about the solar flare a sudden increase in brightness of a
objects on the sky, analogous to longitude on the objects. small region on the Sun. This flare is caused by a
Earth’s surface. Measured in hours and minutes magnetic disturbance.
self-propagating star formation a model that
of time.
explains spiral arms as arising from stars trig- solar nebula the rotating disk of gas and dust
rilles narrow canyons on the Moon or other body. gering the birth of other stars around them. The from which the Sun and planets formed.
resulting pattern is then drawn out into a spiral by
Roche limit the distance from an astronomical solar nebula theory the theory that the Solar Sys-
the galaxy’s rotation.
body at which its gravitational force can pull apart tem formed from a rotating cloud of gas and dust,
another astronomical body. semimajor axis half the long dimension of an the solar nebula.
ellipse.
rotation axis an imaginary line through the center Solar System the Sun, planets, their moons, and
of a body about which the body spins. SETI Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. other bodies that orbit the Sun.
Some such searches involve automatic “listening”
rotation curve a plot of the rotation velocity of solar wind the outflow of low-density, hot gas
to millions of radio frequencies for signals that
the stars or gas in a galaxy at different distances from the Sun’s upper atmosphere. It is partially
might be from other civilizations.
from its center. this wind that creates the tail of a comet, by
Seyfert galaxy a variety of active galaxy with a blowing gas away from the comet’s immediate
RR Lyrae stars a type of white, giant, pulsating
small, abnormally bright nucleus containing hot surroundings.
variable stars with a period of about one day or
gas. Named for the astronomer who first drew
less. They are named for their prototype star, RR solid core the inner iron-nickel core of the Earth
attention to these objects.
Lyrae. or another planet. Despite its high temperature,
shell source a region in a star where the nuclear the core is solid because it is under great pressure.
runaway greenhouse effect greenhouse effect in
energy generation occurs around the core rather Also called the inner core.
which heat trapping grows as temperature rises,
than in it.
so the planet’s atmosphere becomes extremely solstice (winter and summer) the beginning of
hot, as has occurred on Venus. shepherding satellites satellites that by their winter and summer. Astronomically the solstice
gravitational attractions prevent particles in a occurs when the Sun is at its greatest distance
S planet’s rings from spreading out and dispersing. north (June) or south (December) of the celestial
Saturn’s F-ring is held together by shepherding equator.
satellite a body orbiting a planet. satellites.
south celestial pole the imaginary point on the
scattering the random redirection of a light short-period comet a comet whose orbital period celestial sphere directly over the Earth’s South
wave or photon as it interacts with atoms or dust is shorter than 200 years. For example, Halley’s Pole.
particles. comet has a period of 76 years.
special relativity a theory developed by Einstein
Schwarzschild radius the radius of a black hole. sidereal day the length of time from the rising of to explain why the speed of light is always the
The distance from the center of a black hole to its a star until it next rises. The length of the Earth’s same, regardless of the motion of the source of
event horizon. sidereal day is 23 hours 56 minutes. the light or the observer. The theory shows (and
scientific method the process of observing a experiment has confirmed) that an object’s mass,
sidereal period the time it takes a body to turn
phenomenon, proposing a hypothesis on the length, rate of time passage, and other quantities
once on its rotation axis or to revolve once around
basis of the observations, and then testing the change depending on the speed of the observer
a central body, as measured with respect to the
hypothesis. relative to the object.
stars.
scientific notation a shorthand way to write num- sidereal time a system of time measurement spectral type an indicator of a star’s tem-
bers using ten to a power. For example, 1,000,000 = based on the motion of stars across the sky rather perature. A star’s spectral type is based on the
106 and 2000 = 2 ×103. Also called “powers-of-ten than the Sun. appearance of its spectrum lines. The fundamen-
notation.” tal types are, from hot to cool: O, B, A, F, G, K,
silicates materials composed of silicon and oxy- and M.
scintillation the twinkling of stars caused by the gen, and generally containing other substances
atmosphere. See seeing. as well. Most ordinary rocks are silicates. For spectrograph a device for making a
example, quartz is silicon dioxide. spectrum.
seeing a measure of the steadiness of the atmo-
sphere during astronomical observations. Under solar cycle the cyclic change in solar activity, spectroscopic binary a type of binary star for
conditions of bad seeing, fine details are difficult to such as sunspots and solar flares, rising and declin- which the spectrum lines exhibit a changing Dop-
see. Bad seeing results from atmospheric irregular- ing about every 11 years. pler shift as a result of the orbital motion of one
ities moving between the telescope and the object star around the other.
being observed. solar day the time interval from one sunrise to
the next sunrise or from one noon to the next spectroscopy the study and analysis of spectra.
seismic waves waves generated in the Earth’s inte- noon. That time interval is not always exactly
rior by earthquakes. Similar waves occur in other 24 hours but varies throughout the year. For that spectrum electromagnetic radiation (for example,
bodies. Two of the more important varieties are S reason, we use the mean solar day (which, by visible light) spread into its component wave-
and P waves. The former can travel only through definition, is 24 hours) to keep time. lengths or colors. The rainbow is a spectrum
solid material; the latter can travel through either produced naturally by water droplets in our
solar eclipse the passage of the Moon between atmosphere.
solid or liquid material.
the Earth and the Sun so that our view of the
selection effect an unintentional selection pro- Sun is partially or totally blocked. See also total spicule a hot, thin column of gas in the Sun’s
cess that omits some set of the objects being eclipse. chromosphere.

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 Glossary G-10

spiral arm a long, narrow region containing supernova an explosion that occurs at the end tides the rise and fall of the Earth’s oceans created
young stars and interstellar matter that winds out- of some stars’ evolution. Astronomers identify by the gravitational attraction of the Moon. Tides also
ward in the disk of spiral galaxies. two main kinds of supernovas: Type Ia and II. occur in the solid crust of a body and its atmosphere.
Type Ia occurs in a binary system in which one
spiral galaxy a galaxy with a disk in which its time dilation the slowing of time due to the
star is a white dwarf. The explosion is triggered
bright stars form a spiral pattern. effects of special and general relativity.
when mass from a companion star falls onto the
spring tide the abnormally large tides that occur white dwarf, raising its mass above the Chan- time zone one of 24 divisions of the globe, cen-
at new and full moon. drasekhar limit and causing the star to collapse. tered at every 15 degrees of longitude. In each
Collapse heats the white dwarf so that its carbon zone, a single standard time is kept. Most zones
standard candle a type of star or other astronomi- and oxygen fuse explosively, destroying the star have irregular boundaries.
cal body in which the luminosity has a known and leaving no remnant. Type II probably occurs
value, allowing its distance to be determined by when a massive star’s iron core collapses. A total eclipse an eclipse in which the eclipsing
measuring its apparent brightness and applying the type II supernova leaves either a neutron star or body totally covers the other body. Only at a total
inverse-square law: Cepheid variable stars, super- a black hole, depending on the mass of the col- solar eclipse can we see the Sun’s corona.
novas, and so forth. lapsing core. transit the passage of a planet directly between
standard time a uniform time kept within a given supernova remnant the debris ejected from a the observer and the Sun. At a transit, we see the
region so that all clocks there agree. star when it explodes as a supernova. Typically, planet as a dark spot against the Sun’s bright disk.
this material is hot gas, expanding away from the From Earth, only Mercury and Venus can transit
star a massive, gaseous body held together by
explosion at thousands of kilometers or more per the Sun.
gravity and generally emitting light. Normal stars
generate energy by nuclear reactions in their second. trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) numerous
interiors. surface gravity the acceleration caused by gravity small, icy objects orbiting in the outer part of the
at the surface of a planet or other body. Solar System beyond the orbit of Neptune.
star cluster a group of stars, numbering from
hundreds to millions, held together by their mutual synchronous rotation the condition where a triangulation a method for measuring distances.
gravity. body’s rotation period is the same as its orbital This method is based on constructing a triangle,
period. The Moon rotates synchronously as it one side of which is the distance to be determined.
Stefan-Boltzmann law the law that the amount
orbits the Earth. That side is then calculated by measuring another
of energy radiated from 1 square meter in 1 sec-
side (the base line) and the two angles at either end
ond by a blackbody of temperature T is propor- synchrotron radiation a form of nonthermal of the base line.
tional to T 4. radiation emitted by charged particles spiraling
at nearly the speed of light in a magnetic field. triple alpha process the fusion of three helium
stratosphere a layer of Earth’s atmosphere
Pulsars and radio galaxies emit synchrotron nuclei (alpha particles) into a carbon nucleus. This
extending from about 12 to 50 km above the sur-
radiation. The radiation gets its name because it process is sometimes called helium burning, and it
face. A layer of ozone is found there.
was first seen in synchrotrons, a type of atomic occurs in many old stars.
strong force the force that holds protons and neu- accelerator. troposphere the lowest layer of the Earth’s atmo-
trons together in the atomic nucleus. Sometimes
synodic period the time between repeated con- sphere, extending up to about 12 km, where con-
called the nuclear force.
figurations of a planet or moon. For example, the vection leads to clouds and precipitation.
subatomic particles particles making up an atom, time between oppositions of a planet or between T Tauri star a type of extremely young star that
such as electrons, neutrons, and protons, or other full moons. varies erratically in its light output.
particles of similar submicroscopic size.

subduction the sinking of one crustal plate where

T tuning-fork diagram a diagram devised by
Hubble to classify the various forms of spiral,
it encounters another. 21-centimeter radiation a spectrum line at radio
elliptical, and irregular galaxies. The diagram is
sunspot a dark, cooler region on the Sun’s visible wavelengths produced by non-ionized (neutral)
named for its shape.
surface created by intense magnetic fields. hydrogen.
turnoff point the location on the main sequence
supercluster a cluster of galaxy clusters. One of tail the plume of gas and dust from a comet. The
where a star’s evolution causes it to move away from
the largest structures in the Universe. plume is produced by the solar wind and radia-
the main sequence toward the red giant region. The
tion pressure acting on the comet. The tail points
super-earth a category of exoplanet with a radius location of the turnoff point can be used to deduce
away from the Sun and gets longer as the comet
about 1.25 to 2 times the Earth’s radius. the age of a star cluster.
approaches perihelion.
supergiant a very large-diameter and luminous terrestrial planet a rocky planet similar to Earth twin paradox a supposed paradox in special rela-
star, typically at least 10,000 times the Sun’s in size and structure. The terrestrial planets are tivity arising from the difference in time measure-
luminosity. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. ment of two observers moving relative to each other.
It is usually expressed in terms of a twin who travels
superior conjunction See conjunction.
tidal braking the slowing of one body’s rotation to a distant star and returns to Earth to find that the
superior planet a planet orbiting farther from the as a result of gravitational forces exerted on it by other twin has aged much more than the first twin.
Sun than the Earth. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, another body. The paradox is explained because the motion of the
and Neptune are superior planets. twins is not symmetric. The twin traveling away
tidal bulge a bulge on one body created by
from Earth experiences accelerations that the twin
supermassive black hole a huge black hole, con- another body’s gravitational attraction on it. Two
remaining on Earth does not experience.
taining millions to billions of solar masses, at the tidal bulges form, one on the side near the attract-
center of most large galaxies. ing body and one on the opposite side. Type Ia supernova See supernova.

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 G-11 Glossary

U and that can be seen with a telescope as separate

objects.
through the weak force and gravity. This could
be a form of dark matter since it does not interact
ultraviolet a portion of the electromagnetic spec- with electromagnetic radiation.
visual double star two stars that appear to lie
trum with wavelengths shorter than those of visible
light but longer than those of X rays. By conven-
very close together on the sky but in reality are at
greatly different distances. X
tion, the ultraviolet region extends from about 10
X rays a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
nm to 400 nm.
W with wavelengths of about 0.01 nm to 10 nm.
Universal time the time kept at Greenwich,
wavelength the distance between wave crests. It X-ray binary a binary star system in which one
England. Universal time is the same as Greenwich
determines the color of visible light and is usually of the stars, or the gas associated with a star, emits
mean time. Most local times (in the continental
denoted by the Greek letter λ. X rays intensely. Such systems generally contain a
United States, these are Eastern, Central, Moun-
collapsed object such as a neutron star or a black
tain, and Pacific) differ from it by a whole number wave–particle duality the theory that electromag-
hole.
of hours. netic radiation may be treated as either a particle
(photon) or an electromagnetic wave.
Universe the largest astronomical structure we
know of. The Universe contains all matter and weak force the force responsible for radioactive
Y
radiation and encompasses all space. decay of atoms. Now known to be linked to the year the time it takes the Earth to complete its
electromagnetic force at high energies and there- orbit around the Sun; that is, the period of the
V fore called the electroweak force. Earth’s orbit.
Van Allen radiation belts doughnut-shaped white dwarf a dense star whose radius is approxi-
regions surrounding the Earth containing charged mately the same as the Earth’s but whose mass is Z
particles trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field. comparable with the Sun’s. White dwarfs burn no Zeeman effect the splitting of a single spectrum
nuclear fuel and shine by residual heat. They are line into two or three lines by a magnetic field. A
variable star a star whose luminosity changes
the end stage of stellar evolution for stars like the method for detecting magnetic fields in objects
over time.
Sun. from their spectra.
vernal equinox the spring equinox in the North-
white light visible light exhibiting no color of its zenith the point on the celestial sphere that lies
ern Hemisphere. Spring begins on the vernal equi-
own but composed of a mix of all colors. Sunlight directly overhead at your location.
nox, which is on about March 20.
and many artificial light sources are “white.”
Virgo Supercluster the cluster of galaxy clusters zodiac a band running around the celestial sphere
Wien’s law a relation between a body’s tempera- in which the planets move.
in which the Milky Way is located. The Local
ture and the wavelength at which it emits radia-
Group is one of its members.
tion most intensely. Hotter bodies radiate more zone a white band in a Jovian planet’s atmosphere,
visible spectrum the part of the electromagnetic intensely at shorter wavelengths. Mathematically, encircling the planet. It appears that in these zones
spectrum that we can see with our eyes. It consists the law states that λmax = 2.9 ×106∕T, where λmax is gas is rising and cooling, forming cloud particles.
of the familiar colors violet, blue, green, yellow, the wavelength of maximum emission in nanome-
zone of avoidance a band running around the sky
orange, and red, extending from about 400 nm to ters and T is the body’s temperature on the Kelvin
in which few galaxies are visible. It coincides with
700 nm. scale.
the Milky Way and is caused by dust that is within
visual binary star a pair of stars held together by WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle) A our Galaxy. This dust blocks the light from distant
their mutual gravity and in orbit about each other, hypothetical subatomic particle that interacts only galaxies.

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