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(astronomy) A dark nebula; a diffuse mass of interstellar gas and dust that absorbs all incident radiation without reemission.
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(astrophysics) A conjectured type of galaxy formed from antimatter.
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(physics, astronomy) In the galactic cycle of matter, the incorporation of matter into a stellar interior during star formation, especially when referring to a specific element or isotope.
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(astronomy) 149,597,870,700 metres, the approximate mean distance from the Earth to the Sun (the semi-major axis of Earth's orbit), (symbol AU), used to measure distances in the solar system.
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(astronomy) The cosmic event that marks the beginning of time and the rapid expansion of space for the visible universe. The evolution of the universe since that beginning point is described by the Big Bang Theory.
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(astronomy) A hypothesized cosmological model for the origin of the known universe.
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(astronomy) A theoretical scientific model suggested as one of the possibilities for the ultimate fate of the universe.
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(astronomy) A singularity at the centre of a black hole, or the final result of the Big Crunch.
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(astronomy) A hypothetical end of the universe in which its rate of expansion becomes infinite in finite time, resulting in all matter being torn apart.
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(astronomy) A hypothesized white dwarf that has cooled down and no longer emits visible light.
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(astronomy) A gravitationally domineering celestial body with an event horizon from which even light cannot escape; the most dense material in the universe, condensed into a singularity, usually formed by a collapsing massive star.
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(astrophysics) A theoretical type of heavenly body composed of a form of boson that is self-repelling, what should be highly dense and bend spacetime in a manner approaching that of a black hole.
n
A black hole solution for (2+1)-dimensional gravity with a negative cosmological constant.
n
(astronomy) Any of the spaces in the Milky Way which are very black, owing to the nearly complete absence of stars.
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(astronomy) The black hole thought to form following the gravitational collapse of a massive star.
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The cosmological horizon; the edge of the observable universe.
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The irresolvable diffuse background resulting from the mixture of weak gravitational waves of all sources.
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(astronomy) The Dark Ages, 380 thousand to about 1 billion years after the Big Bang.
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(astronomy) A type of nebula that does not emit or reflect (visible) light, and thus obscures light sources behind it.
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(astronomy, physics) An astrophysical object (a "star") powered by dark matter particle self-annihilation.
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(astrophysics) The gravitational sphere of a black hole within which the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light.
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(astronomy) The absorption or scattering of electromagnetic radiation emitted by astronomical objects by intervening dust and gas before it reaches the observer.
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The velocity of a circular orbit about the Earth.
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(astronomy) A celestial body that, through self-gravity, is able to perform nuclear fusion within its core, at any point in its life. These include stars, stellar remnants, and brown dwarfs.
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A galileo (unit of acceleration).
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(astronomy) by extension, the time it takes a celestial body to complete a quasi-orbit in a galaxy
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(astronomy, physics) A proposed alternative to black holes that is more consistent with quantum mechanics.
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The stage in the evolution of a star in which the pressure of the star is insufficient to maintain it at a stable size, and its material falls inward under its own gravitational attraction, eventually forming a black hole or a neutron star, and sometimes accompanied by a supernova explosion.
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(astronomy) The action of a highly-massive object (such as a star, galaxy, or black hole) that acts as a gravitational lens and focuses light from a light source (such as another star or galaxy) that passes behind it as observed from the Earth.
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(astronomy, physics) A shift to longer wavelengths of spectral lines emitted by atoms in a strong gravitational field.
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(astrodynamics) The area of space around a celestial body that is dominated by the body's gravitational field.
adj
(physics, astronomy) Of a star, specifically its equator: darker due to gravity darkening.
n
(physics, orbital mechanics) A periodic, three-dimensional orbit about any one of the Lagrange points L₁, L₂ or L₃ of a two-body gravitational system.
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(astronomy) The use of computation to identify haloes in clusters of galaxies or other crowded regions.
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(astrophysics) A theoretical maximum radius of a star of given mass; the radius at which the inward force of gravity exactly balances the outward pressure of the gas of the star.
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(astronomy) A number that expresses the rate of expansion of the universe; the velocity at which a distant object is receding from the Earth divided by its distance; its reciprocal determines the age of the universe.
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(cosmology) the spherical region of the observable universe surrounding an observer beyond which objects recede from that observer at a rate greater than the speed of light due to the expansion of the Universe.
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Alternative spelling of Hubble constant [(astronomy) A number that expresses the rate of expansion of the universe; the velocity at which a distant object is receding from the Earth divided by its distance; its reciprocal determines the age of the universe.]
n
(astronomy) The gravitational collapse of a massive star to form a black hole.
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(astronomy, uncountable) Movement towards a massive astronomical body under the influence of gravity; especially the process whereby gas falls towards a neutron star or black hole at high speed, forming a plasma
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(astrophysics) A particle that falls behind the event horizon, for example into a black hole.
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(astronomy) the dimming of light from the stars due to absorption and scattering from dust in the interstellar medium
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(theoretical physics) A concentration of light so intense that it forms an event horizon and becomes self-trapped, forming a black hole.
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(astrophysics) an object residing in a Lagrange point / Lagrangian point
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(astronomy) A disc-shaped magnetosphere
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Alternative form of massive compact halo object [(astronomy, physics) Any kind of astronomical body comprising normal baryonic matter that in sufficient numbers might explain the apparent presence of dark matter in galaxy halos.]
n
(astronomy, physics, obsolete) A supposed chemical element proposed as a result of spectral analysis of light from a nebula; the emission lines concerned are now known to be due to doubly-ionized oxygen.
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(astronomy) An optical device that uses destructive interference to cancel out a strong light source, such as a star.
adj
(physics, of a stellarator) Having no orbit-averaged radial magnetic drift
n
A phenomenon in which slow light is passed through a Bose-Einstein condensate that is itself spinning faster than the local speed of light within to create a vortex capable of trapping the light behind an event horizon, just as a gravitational black hole would.
adj
(astronomy) Describing the period following the bounce of a collapsing stellar core
n
A black hole which is formed by direct collapse of primordial gas and dark matter, before the first stars ever formed, in a Big Bang universe.
n
Alternative form of quasistar [(astronomy, cosmology) black hole star: A hypothetical object, similar to a star, having a central black hole]
n
(astronomy, cosmology) black hole star: A hypothetical object, similar to a star, having a central black hole
n
(mathematics, physics) A mathematical formulation for a black hole which does not contain a singularity. The environment outside the event horizon is the same as other formulations for black holes.
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(astronomy) The stage in a black hole merging event where the gravitational wave amplitude reaches its peak.
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(astronomy) a low-luminosity cluster of brown dwarfs and white dwarfs
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(astrophysics) The minimum density a black hole can have: 1/(2G/c² ) or 6.734×10²⁶ kg/m (kilograms per meter).
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(astrophysics, astronomy) A triaxial equilibrium kinematic model of an actual galaxy built using Schwarzschild's method.
n
escape velocity of Earth (interplanetary speed)
n
(astrophysics) The gravitational stretching of objects into long, thin shapes, usually near a black hole.
v
(astrophysics) To stretch an object into a long thin shape under the influence of a very strong gravitational field gradient, such as found near a black hole.
n
(astronomy) A subset of a halo (of matter or dark matter around a galaxy)
n
(astronomy) A supergranulation cell
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(astronomy) the production of superhumps
n
the escape velocity of the Solar System (interstellar speed)
adj
(astronomy) Specifically, designating a type of galaxy with a very low proportion of visible stars compared to the Milky Way, and hence a very low luminosity.
adj
(astronomy) Describing a star that has a smaller mass than is typical for its type.
n
(astronomy, cosmology, physics, now chiefly historical) In the Big Bang theory, the hot and dense plasma which made up the cosmos at the time of recombination in an early stage of its expansion and cooling, when the first atoms formed and photons decoupled. The ylem is regarded as the source of the cosmic microwave background.
n
(astrophysics) The effect of solar radiation on an asymmetric asteroid or other small body whereby its rate of rotation increases, potentially leading to the object's eventual disintegration.
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