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Posted

NEREUS -a Near-Earth asteroid that is about 0.6 to 1.25 miles (1-2 km) in diameter. It has an orbital period of 1.82 yrs and a semimajor axis of 1.490 A

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Second - A unit of time based on the rotation of Earth equal to 1/86400 of a mean solar day. Also a measure of latitude and longitude equal to 1/3600 of a degree and commonly denoted an arcsecond.

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Yes - An affirmative term used by astronomers when asked a question. Also an expression of delight or happiness, e.g. when Philae landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko some controllers exclaimed "Yes!".

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Supermoon- A term used to describe a full moon that occurs during the Moon's closest approach to the Earth. During a supermoon, the Moon may appear slightly larger and brighter than normal.

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Hydrostatic equilibrium-

A state that occurs when compression due to gravity is balanced by a pressure gradient which creates a pressure gradient force in the opposite direction.

 

 

Lenticular Galaxy

A disk-shaped galaxy that contains no conspicuous structure within the disk. Lenticular galaxies tend to look more like elliptical galaxies than spiral galaxies.

 

Oblateness

A measure of flattening at the poles of a planet or other celestial body.

Edited by Mordred
Posted

Just a fun game to play;

 

Rules:

  • State a word related to astronomy/astrophysics/cosmology.
  • The next person states a word that starts with the letter the previous word ends on.
  • Then state an interesting fact about that word.
...

 

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MACHO

(Massive Compact Halo Object) -- These are black holes, neutron stars and brown dwarfs, none of which are luminous and all of which are postulated to exist in the halos of galaxies. They are a form of dark matter.

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Inferior Planet- A planet that orbits between the Earth and the Sun. Mercury and Venus are the only two inferior planets in our solar system.

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Alnitak - A multiple star at the East end of Orion's belt. 'Alnitak' is Arabic for girdle. The primary star is a hot blue supergiant estimated at 33 times the mass and 20 times the diameter of our Sun.

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kirkwood gaps

Regions in the asteroid zone which have been swept clear of asteroids by the perturbing effects of Jupiter

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Synodic Month -The period of time it takes the Moon to make one complete revolution around the Earth. A Synodic month is equal to 29.53 days and is measured as the time between a lunar phase and the return of that same phase.

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Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram- a graph whose horizontal axis plots star color (or temperature) against a vertical axis plotting stellar luminosity (or absolute magnitude)

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M-31 in Andromeda

 

Popularly known as the Andromeda galaxy, It is actually found in the Andromeda constellation, hence its popular name.

Actual name is #31 in the Messier catalogue.

Edited by MigL
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Algol - An eclipsing multiple star in the constellation Perseus and one of the first variable stars ever discovered. It is also known as 'the Demon Star'.

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Lenticular Galaxy- A disk-shaped galaxy that contains no conspicuous structure within the disk. Lenticular galaxies tend to look more like elliptical galaxies than spiral galaxies.

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Yang-Mills Theories

Also known as gauge theories, also used in GUT theories. Of primary importance in particle physics

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Sidereal time

 

Timekeeping based on the rotating motion of the Earth against the 'fixed' stars.

Posted (edited)

e-Folding is the time interval in which an exponentially growing quantity increases by a factor of e (e = roughly 2.718). Roughly 60 e folds in inflation.

Edited by Mordred
Posted

Astrochemistry- The branch of science that explores the chemical interactions between dust and gas interspersed between the stars.

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