Rosemary Mulvey

Professor Cole
Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe
21 February 2017
Glossary 1
Adaptive Optics: bends mirror in telescope for current seeing to get high
resolution image (Class Notes 2/21)

Andromeda Galaxy: a spiral galaxy, appearing to the naked eye as a fuzzy

oval patch in the constellation Andromeda; it is a close neighbor to our own
galaxy. (Dictionary.com, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/andromeda-galaxy
)

Aperture: a space through which light passes in an optical or photographic

instrument, especially the variable opening by which light enters a camera.
(Google, https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=aperture+definition )

Asterism: a prominent pattern or group of stars, typically having a popular

name but smaller than a constellation. (Google,
https://www.google.com/search?
q=asterism+definition&oq=asteris&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0j69i57j0l3.1254j0j
7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 )

Asteroid: a small rocky body orbiting the sun. Large numbers of these,
ranging in size from nearly 600 miles (1,000 km) across (Ceres) to dust
particles, are found (as the asteroid belt) especially between the orbits of
Mars and Jupiter, though some have more eccentric orbits, and a few pass
close to the earth or enter the atmosphere as meteors. (Google,
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=asteroid+definition )

Astronomical Unit (AU): Distance from Earth to the Sun, approximately 8 light
minutes (Class Notes 2/2)

Atmospheric Blurring: changes in temperature in the atmosphere reflect light

differently; the more atmosphere in the way, the more blurring (Class Notes
2/21)

Barred Spiral Galaxy: a spiral galaxy whose center has the form of an
extended bar. (Dictionary.com, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/barred-
spiral-galaxy )
Black hole: a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light
cannot get out (Nasa, https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-
4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-a-black-hole-k4.html )

Chromatic Aberration: refracting telescopes bending light and leading to

color separation and a blurring of the image; the bigger the lens, the more
chromatic aberration (Class Notes 2/21)

Comet: a celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when
near the sun, a tail of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.
(Google, https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=comet+definition )

Cosmology: the science of the origin and development of the universe.

Modern astronomy is dominated by the Big Bang theory, which brings
together observational astronomy and particle physics. (Google,
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=cosmology+definition )

Dust: tiny pieces of solid particles or dust (composed mainly of carbon,

silicon and oxygen) (Caltech,
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/cosmic_reference/dust.
html )

Inner Planets: a planet whose orbit lies within the asteroid belt, i.e., Mercury,
Venus, Earth, or Mars. (Google, https://www.google.com/webhp?
sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-
8#q=inner+planets+definition ); the four planets closest to the sun
(Textbook, 7.1)

Light Year: distance light travels in a year (Class Notes 2/2)

Light-hours: distance light travels in an hour (Class Notes 2/2)

Light-minute: distance light travels in a minute (Class Notes 2/2)

Light-seconds: distance light travels in a second (Class Notes 2/2)

Light: Any kind of EN radiation (e.g. infrared light) (Class Notes 2/21)

Magellenic Clouds: Both Large and Small Magellenic Clouds, only visible in
southern hemisphere; dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way (Class Notes
2/21)
Milky Way Galaxy: the galaxy of which the sun and the solar system are a
part and which contains the myriads of stars that create the light of the Milky
Way (Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Milky
%20Way%20galaxy )

Model: an incomplete explanation for a natural phenomenon; works in some

cases or certain conditions; a starting point to figure out what is going on;
predict other things that we observe or other observable effect (Class)

Molecular clouds: clouds of molecules like hydrogen (Class Notes 2/2)

Neutron Star: a celestial object of very small radius (typically 18 miles/30

km) and very high density, composed predominantly of closely packed
neutrons. Neutron stars are thought to form by the gravitational collapse of
the remnant of a massive star after a supernova explosion, provided that the
star is insufficiently massive to produce a black hole. (Google,
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=neutron+star+definition )

Northern Sky: Sky as seen in the Northern Hemisphere (Class Notes 2/2)

Null Result: The answer to the test of the hypothesis is no (Class Notes 2/9)

Oort Cloud: a spherical shell of cometary bodies believed to surround the sun
far beyond the orbits of the outermost planets and from which some are
dislodged when perturbed to fall toward the sun (Merriam-Webster,
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Oort%20cloud )

Outer Planets: a planet whose orbit lies outside the asteroid belt, i.e., Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune. (Google, https://www.google.com/webhp?
sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-
8#q=outer+planets+definition )

Parsec: 3.26 light-years (Class Notes 2/2)

Photographic Plate: older method of recording from telescope, big piece of

glass with emulsion on it which is developed like film (Class Notes 2/21)

Photon Bucket: astronomers slang for a telescope (Class Notes 2/21)

Photon: a particle representing a quantum of light or other electromagnetic

radiation. A photon carries energy proportional to the radiation frequency but
has zero rest mass. (Google, https://www.google.com/webhp?
sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=photon+definition )

Proxima Centauri: star closest to us besides sun, four light years away (Class
Notes 2/2)

Pulsar: a celestial object, thought to be a rapidly rotating neutron star, that

emits regular pulses of radio waves and other electromagnetic radiation at
rates of up to one thousand pulses per second. (Google,
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=pulsar+definition )

Radio waves: an electromagnetic wave of a frequency between about

104 and 1011 or 1012 Hz, as used for long-distance communication. (Google,
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=radio+wave+definition )

Reflector Telescope: wider telescope with eyepiece at the front which uses a
primary and secondary mirror to reflect starlight into eyepiece. (Class Notes
2/21)

Refraction: the fact or phenomenon of light, radio waves, etc., being

deflected in passing obliquely through the interface between one medium
and another or through a medium of varying density. (Google,
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-
instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=refraction+definition )

Refractor Telescope: long and skinny telescope with eyepiece in the back
that uses lens to refract starlight into eyepiece. (Class Notes 2/21)

Scientific Fact: an explanation of natural processes of phenomena resulting

from the scientific process that has been tested and confirmed so many
times that there is no longer a compelling reason to keep testing it or looking
for additional evidence (Class Notes 2/9)

Seeing: how much the light gets distorted by the movement of air in the
atmosphere (Class Notes 2/21)

Supermassive Black hole: contain between a million and a billion times more
mass than a typical stellar black hole (Cosmos,
http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/S/Supermassive+Black+Hole )
: Sun Symbol (Class Notes 2/2)

: Earth Symbol (Class Notes 2/2)