Printer-friendly version

Browse the glossary using this index

Special | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ALL

K

Kalpana Chawla

(Last edited: Tuesday, 14 March 2023, 1:16 PM)


Source: http://lk.astronautilus.pl/astros/366.htm


Definition: 

Kalpana Chawla, born in Karnal, India, in 1962, is first astronaut with an Indian descent. In her early years, her father took her to local flying clubs, where she developed her passion for flying. She moved to the U.S. to pursue degrees in engineering (Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado) and eventually after graduation, she did research, focusing on vertical take-off and landing concepts. Her area was the development and implementation of efficient techniques for performing aerodynamic optimization. In 1994, Chawla was chosen as an astronaut candidate and took part in 2 space flights. The second flight ended tragically in 16.01.2003, as Space Shuttle Columbia exploded while being on the way back to the Earth, after 15 days and 22 hours spent in space. The explosion while re-entrng into Earth's atmosphere killed all seven astronauts on board, including Kalpana Chawla. 


Links to Videos/Articles:

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/chawla_kalpana.pdf

https://www.space.com/17056-kalpana-chawla-biography.html


Tags:

Kepler’s laws

(Last edited: Friday, 28 April 2023, 6:09 PM)

Image/Video/Audio Source:


Short Definition:

Kepler’s laws of planetary motion are one of the most basic concepts of astronomy. In short, these correct Copernicus heliocentric theory by replacing circular orbits with elliptical ones, and explain the motion of planets.


Detailed Definition:

There are three Kepler laws of planetary motion:

  1. Each planet's orbit about the Sun is an ellipse.

  2. Planets do not move with constant speed along their orbits.

  3. The period for a planet to orbit the Sun increases rapidly with the radius of its orbit.

These were published in the XVII century and confirmed by Isaac Newton and are known as his laws of motion and law of universal gravitation. 


Etymology:

Kepler - a surname from German

law - /lɔː/, Old English lagu, from Old Norse lag ‘something laid down or fixed’, of Germanic origin and related to lay.



Sample Sentence(s):

Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion explain how an astronomical body would orbit the heavy gravitational object. 

I forgot to use Kepler’s laws during my science test, so I failed.


Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages [Multiple fields for entering the translation of the term in each partner language, additional languages can potentially be added, e.g. Russian, Chinese, Portuguese]

French: 

lois de Kepler


German:

Keplerschen Gesetzen


Polish:

prawa Keplera


Swedish:

Keplers lagar


Links to Videos/Articles:

Tags:

Kuiper Belt

(Last edited: Friday, 28 April 2023, 6:09 PM)

Image:


Source:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38097918

Short Definition:

The Kuiper Belt is a ring of rocky objects floating alongside our Solar System beyond Neptune. It extends outwards from Neptune’s orbit thousands of AU (astronomical units).


Detailed Definition:

The Kuiper Belt is similar to the asteroid belt (the one between Mars and Jupiter), but it is far larger. It consists of small rocky creatures, among which are so called dwarf planets: Pluto, Haumea, Makemake etc.

It is believed that many bodies found nowadays inside of it are as old as our Solar System. 

It was being discovered little by little during the twentieth century. Firstly, there was just an idea given by Gerard Kuiper, that Pluto cannot be alone in the outer Solar System. After many precise calculations and continuous observation of the sky, in 1992, two scientists, Dave Jewitt and Jane Luu, found a second Kuiper Belt Object (KBO), confirming the theory.



Etymology:

Kuiper (/ˈkaɪpər/) - from Dutch, meaning copper, 

Belt (/bɛlt/) - Old English, of Germanic origin, from Latin balteus ‘girdle’.



Sample Sentence(s):

One of the largest objects of the Kuiper Belt, Pluto, a dwarf planet, is the tenth-most-massive object to directly orbit the Sun.


French: 

la ceinture de Kuiper


German:

der Kuiper-Gürtel


Polish:

Pas Kuipera


Swedish:

Kuiperbältet


Links to Videos/Articles:


Tags: