n
(astronomy) A small periodical change of the apparent positions of the stars and other heavenly bodies, due to the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the observer.
n
(astronomy) A phenomenon that produces an apparent motion of celestial objects about their true positions, dependent on the velocity of the observer.
n
Alternative form of Alfven surface [(stellar astronomy) The outer edge of the corona. The boundary that separates a star's atmosphere from its exosphere (heliosphere, astrosphere), where Alfven waves transition into stellar wind (solar wind).]
adj
(astronomy) Of or relating to a theorem stating that no stable spiral modes of oscillation exist, in general, in a gaseous galaxy.
n
(astronomy, of the disk of a spiral galaxy) The presence of an outer radial surface brightness profile that is distinctly shallower in scope than the main disk profile.
n
(astronomy) The first appearance of a star or other luminary after having been invisible or obscured; opposed to occultation.
n
(obsolete) A small trough containing mercury, the surface of which shows a reflection of the celestial bodies.
n
Any material recovered from space
n
(astronomy) The stellar equivalent of the heliosheath
n
A cavity filled with hot gas blown into the interstellar medium by stellar winds.
n
(astronomy) The stellar equivalent of the heliotail
n
The apparent angular elevation of the heavenly bodies above their true places, caused by the refraction of the rays of light in their passage through the Earth's atmosphere.
n
(astrophysics, cosmology) An anomaly in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background as the result of a preferential axis which may have shaped the development of the universe, sometimes abbreviated AOE.
n
(astronomy) A predicted line on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram that relates the effective temperature and luminosity of pre-main-sequence stars at the start of their contraction.
n
(astronomy) An optical effect, occurring during the transit of an object in front of the Sun, by which light is bent around the object, causing it to look stretched out.
n
(astronomy, neologism) A phenomenon that emits a fast radio burst.
n
(astronomy) A nine-level numeric scale that measures the night sky's brightness of a particular location.
n
(astronomy) The region of the magnetosphere in which the solar wind slows from supersonic to subsonic.
n
(Greek mythology) The state of being transformed into a star, constellation, comet or other celestial object.
n
(astronomy) A cepheid variable.
n
(astronomy) The faint pink extension of a star's atmospheric envelope between the corona and the photosphere
adj
(physics, astronomy) Surrounding a burst
n
(astronomy) The deviation of a heavenly body from a spherical form.
n
(astrology) The configuration of planets at a given time (notably of birth), as used for determining a horoscope.
n
(astronomy) infrared light scattered by unusually large grains of dust in the denser core regions of molecular clouds
n
(also geology) An oval-shaped astrogeological feature, present on both the planet Venus and Uranus's moon Miranda, probably formed by upwellings of warm material below the surface.
adj
(astronomy) Relating to the corona of a star.
n
(astrophysics) A region in the corona of a star where magnetic field lines extend out into space, allowing solar wind to escape.
n
(astronomy) A massive burst of solar wind, other light isotope plasma, and magnetic fields rising above the solar corona or being released into space.
n
(astronomy) Cooled globs of condensed plasma that falls back onto a star's surface, after having been superheated and lofted into the corona.
n
(astronomy) The distance from an observer in a universe beyond which it is impossible for the observer to see, as the light (or other luminal particles) cannot have travelled that distance over the current age of that universe.
n
An apparatus for showing the position of the Earth with respect to the fixed stars, consisting of a hollow glass globe marked with the stars and constellations and containing a terrestrial globe.
n
(astronomy) A galactic arm on the far side of a galaxy that is colliding with another galaxy.
n
(astronomy) The practice of pointing an antenna or telescope slightly away from a direct line of sight in order to correct for parallax
n
A binary star star system where both of the stars are pulsars.
n
A structure or device that is dymaxion in nature.
n
A hypothetical system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture its entire energy output.
n
(science fiction) A system of movable, independent satellites that as a whole compose a Dyson sphere.
n
A type of power satellite that derives energy from stellar wind through betavoltaics, by capturing free electrons (beta particles) in the wind; instead of through sunlight and photovolatics.
n
(astronomy, historical) A kind of orrery that combined mechanical movement with a method of back projection.
n
A ring-shaped gravitational mirage: an image of a distant light source (such as a galaxy) which has been distorted into a ring by a gravitational lens.
n
(astronomy) The distance of a celestial object above the horizon, or the arc of a vertical circle intercepted between it and the horizon; altitude.
n
(astronomy) The nebulous covering of the head or nucleus of a comet; a coma.
n
(astronomy) A small correction to observed values to remove the effects of systematic errors in an observation.
n
(physics) A region outside the event horizon of a rotating black hole in which space and time are distorted by shear forces.
n
(astronomy) a very short duration bright flash in the visible spectrum; thought to be caused by a type of supernova
n
(by extension) An object from which the phenomenon occurs.
n
(astronomy) The small distortion of an astronomical instrument caused by the weight of its parts; the amount to be added or subtracted from the observed readings of the instrument to correct them for this distortion.
n
(astrophysics) In a solar system, the distance from the protosun beyond which hydrogen-containing gas compounds freeze.
n
(astronomy, countable) A sudden increase in the rotational frequency of a pulsar.
n
(astronomy) A bright, transient granular marking on the Sun's photosphere.
n
(astronomy) a small mark in the photosphere of the sun caused by convection currents. See also Wikipedia:Granule (solar physics).
n
A distorted or false image of a distant galaxy (e.g. an image of a distant galaxy as a ring, or as multiple copies of itself) caused by a gravitational lens (a massive object located between the distant galaxy and the viewer, which alters how the light of the distant galaxy reaches the viewer).
n
(mythology, astronomy) The Milky Way, the night sky visual phenomenon caused by dense regions of the Milky Way Galaxy appearing nebulous. (Used especially in Native American contexts.)
n
(meteorology, astronomy) A rare phenomenon observed in morning or evening when the sun is crossing or immediately below the horizon, in which a momentary flash or ray of green light appears above the upper rim of the solar disk, caused by refraction of light in the atmosphere.
n
Any of a set of parameters for a quasi-experimental model used to describe the directional reflectance properties of the airless regolith surfaces of bodies in the Solar System.
n
(astronomy) The boundary of heliosphere where the Sun's solar wind is stopped by the interstellar medium.
n
(astronomy) A zone between the termination shock and the heliopause, in the heliosphere, at the outer border of the Solar System, where the solar wind is dramatically slower than within the termination shock.
n
(astronomy) The region of space where interstellar medium is blown away by solar wind; the boundary, heliopause, is often considered the edge of the Solar System.
n
(astronomy) The part of the heliosphere opposite to the bow shock
n
(astrophysics) A bright loop-like discharge of stellar matter in the corona of a star, connecting coronal holes of opposite magnetic polarity.
n
(astronautics) An elliptical orbit used to transfer a spacecraft between two circular orbits of different altitudes in the same plane, with the periapsis of the orbit being tangent to the smaller circular orbit and its apoapsis being tangent to the larger circular orbit.
n
(astronomy) A diagram, used to illustrate the Hubble law, in which the velocity of an object (assumed to be approximately proportional to its redshift) is plotted with respect to its distance from the observer.
adj
(astronomy) Extremely luminous
adj
(astronomy) Extremely massive
adj
(astronomy) Moving towards a massive astronomical body under the influence of gravity
adj
(astronomy) Describing the paths of a pair of binary stars that are losing energy, and spiralling in towards each other
n
(astronomy) A generalization of insolation to stars other than the sun.
n
(planetology, radio astronomy, astrometeorology) The separation between two different depth layers of the planet Jupiter, where the microwave emission characteristics of the bands (light stripes) and belts (dark stripes) are reversed. Bands have low levels of microwave emissions compared to belts at the surface, while below the jovicline, they have higher emissions comparatively.
n
(astronomy) A gravitational keyhole.
n
(astrophysics, orbital mechanics) A point in an orbital configuration of a two-body system where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be stationary relative to the two larger objects.
n
(astronomy) The inner corona.
n
(astronomy) The edge of a star or planet.
n
A quasiperiodic orbital trajectory that an object can follow around a Lagrangian point of a three-body system without requiring any propulsion.
n
(astronautics, humorous) A form of lithobraking in which a spacecraft or other object on a hyperbolic trajectory inbound to a planet, moon, asteroid, or other celestial body is decelerated by impact with the surface of the body.
n
(geology, astronomy) A sphere of magma at the centre of a rocky planet or moon of sufficiently large size
n
(physics) The comet-shaped region around Earth or another planet in which charged particles are trapped or deflected. Shaped by the solar wind and the planet's magnetic field.
n
(astronomy) The long, trailing part of a magnetosphere on the side of a planet furthest from the sun
n
(science fiction) A hypothetical megastructure of immense computational capacity powered by a Dyson sphere.
n
(astronomy, celestial mechanics) An angle of 𝜏 (radians) divided by the orbital period (of a celestial body in an elliptic orbit).
n
(science fiction) A hypothetical structure not possible with current technology, e.g., a Dyson sphere.
n
(astronomy, obsolete) An instrument for measuring the position, length, and direction of the apparent path of a shooting star.
n
(astronomy) Very small variability (in the brightness of stars)
n
(astronomy) A relatively small, relatively cool halo
n
(astronomy) A period of minimum brightness or energy intensity (of a star).
n
The chromospheric signature of a large-scale solar coronal shock wave.
n
(astronomy) A star's own motion, independent of the motion due to the displacement of the observer.
n
(astrodynamics) A halo orbit with nearly straight sides between passes near the orbited body.
n
(astronomy) The region of a star or supernova rich in neutrinos.
n
(physics) A pattern of interference of light characterized by concentric rings that is caused by light's reflection from two surfaces, one of which is usually round.
n
(astronomy) Any sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star.
n
A proposed space settlement consisting of two cylinders that rotate to provide artificial gravity via centrifugal force.
n
(aerospace) The concept that the most efficient place for spacecraft to change velocity is at the periapsis (the lowest point of an orbit).
n
(astronomy) The observation that the night sky is mostly dark, yet, in a boundless universe of stars, every line of sight from the eye must eventually intercept the surface of a star.
n
(astronomy) A star that appears as a double due to an optical illusion; in reality, the stars may be far apart from each other.
n
(astronomy) A stream of gaseous material emanating from an active galactic nucleus.
adj
(astronomy) Describing a concentration or abundance of a chemical element or isotope greater than that found in the Sun.
n
(astronomy) The angle of seeing of the astronomical unit.
n
A device for keeping track of cyclical events, particularly of stars, weather, seasons, and so on.
n
(astronomy) A periapsis.
v
(astronomy) To modify the motion of a body by exerting a gravitational force.
n
(countable, astronomy, physics) Variation in an orbit due to the influence of external bodies
n
(optics) Any visible phenomenon in the atmosphere caused by reflection, refraction, diffraction or interference.
n
(astronomy) A visible surface layer of a star, and especially that of a sun.
n
(astronomy, obsolete) One of the sights of an astrolabe.
n
(astronomy) An arc of glowing material (chiefly gases) erupting from the surface of a star.
n
(astronomy) A gaseous projection, often loop-shaped, springing from the surface of the Sun or a star.
n
(astronomy) The equivalent of a photosphere in radiation other than visible light (especially in infrared)
n
(astrophysics) A bright loop-like structure in the corona of a star, similar to a helmet streamer, but connecting coronal holes of the same magnetic polarity.
n
(astronomy) A process in which a galaxy loses cold gas, thus strongly suppressing star formation.
n
(astronomy) Motion of a star toward or away from the earth.
n
(astronomy) The apparent origin, in the night sky, of a meteor shower.
n
(astronomy) The expanding sphere of radiation around a supernova
n
A rotating cutaway plate or overlay on an astrolabe or starmap which represents the horizon; used to locate stars and other astronomical features.
n
(astronomy) Sunlight that is reflected from the ring around a planet (such as the one around Saturn), visible on the night side of the planet.
n
(science fiction) An artificial megastructure in space, consisting of a rotating ring encircling a star and having an inhabitable inner surface with gravity produced through centripetal force.
n
(astrophysics) for a galaxy, a plot of the orbital velocity of objects with respect to the center of the galaxy, as a function of the distance between the two
n
(astronomy) The movement or distortion of a telescopic image as a result of turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere.
n
The use of the relative movement and gravity of a planet or other celestial body to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft.
n
(astrophysics) The inner limit where volatile molecules can remain frozen in the zone around a star.
n
(astronomy) Any of the large eruptions of luminous hydrogen gas that rise thousands of kilometers above the chromosphere of the Sun.
n
(astronomy) The outflow of charged particles from the solar corona into space. Because of the high temperature of the particles of the corona, they are moving at speeds higher than the solar escape velocity.
n
The near-vacuum in which planets, stars and other celestial objects are situated; the universe beyond the earth's atmosphere.
n
(astronomy) The real or apparent motion of a star etc. through space.
n
(astronomy) The reddening of the light from distant stars because of selective absorption and scattering by interstellar dust
n
(astronomy) The velocity of a star relative to the Sun
adj
(astrophysics) Having undergone spaghettification.
n
A circular card that represents the positions of stars using altazimuth coordinates.
n
(astronomy, obsolete) a spiral-shaped white nebula; these were generally determined to be spiral galaxies in the 20th century
adj
Having the characteristics of a spiral galaxy
n
(astronomy, photography) The line of light recorded on a photographic medium when a time exposure is made of a star in the nighttime sky using a camera on a fixed mount, caused by the rotation of the earth during the period of time when the camera's shutter is held open.
n
(astronomy) A region of space with an unusually high rate of star formation.
n
(astronomy) The apparent shared motion of stars in the same cluster.
n
Small fragments of dust-like material found in space; specifically, a type of cosmic dust that formed from cooling gases ejected from presolar stars, which was then incorporated into the cloud from which the Solar System condensed.
n
(astronomy) A form of coronagraph disk designed to prevent starlight from interfering with the observation of exoplanets
n
An optical device that measures the positions of stars using photocells or a camera.
n
(obsolete) radiation of light
adj
(astronomy) Describing a star that is fainter than main sequence stars of the same colour
n
(astronomy) The lesser of the two regular pulses emitted by a pulsar
n
(astronomy) A region on the sun's surface with a lower temperature than its surroundings and intense magnetic activity.
n
(astronomy) A regular cycle of superoutbursts.
n
(astronomy) A large-scale system of convection cells covering the surface of the sun
n
(astronomy) A large region of convection in the photosphere of the sun; a supergranule
adj
(astronomy) Having a very high luminosity
n
(astronomy) A very large outburst (from a nova etc)
n
(astronomy, rare) A full or giant sun (solar star).
n
An interplanetary flight in which the gravitational attraction of a planet is used to provide acceleration and a change in course.
n
Alternative form of tellurion. [(astronomy, historical) An instrument used to show how the rotation of the Earth on its axis and its orbit around the Sun cause day and night and the seasons.]
n
(astronomy) The boundary marking one of the outer limits of the Sun's influence, where the solar wind dramatically slows.
n
(astronomy) The locking of the rotation of a satellite (moon or planet) to its orbit, such that one side always faces the body around which it is orbiting.
n
(astronomy, space science) The path of a body as it travels through space.
n
(astronomy, physics) Either of two torus-shaped areas of high-energy charged particles which partly surround Earth, trapped by its magnetic field. The areas are characterised by intense radiation. When the belts "overload", particles strike the upper atmosphere and fluoresce, causing the polar aurora.
n
(astronomy) A graph of the orbital speeds of the stars of a galaxy with respect to their distance from the galaxy's centre
n
(astronomy) The dynamic change in the trajectory of the stars of a galaxy induced by the collective interactions of all the other stars.
adj
(astronomy) That has undergone virialization
n
(astronomy) The number of meteors a single observer would see in one hour under a clear, dark sky (i.e. up to the limiting apparent magnitude of 6.5).
Note: Concept clusters like the one above are an experimental OneLook
feature. We've grouped words and phrases into thousands of clusters
based on a statistical analysis of how they are used in writing. Some
of the words and concepts may be vulgar or offensive. The names of the
clusters were written automatically and may not precisely describe
every word within the cluster; furthermore, the clusters may be
missing some entries that you'd normally associate with their
names. Click on a word to look it up on OneLook.
Our daily word games Threepeat and Compound Your Joy are going strong. Bookmark and enjoy!
Today's secret word is 8 letters and means "Believable and worthy of trust." Can you find it?