Dictionary of Space Concepts

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_hole_-_Messier_87_crop_max_res.jpg

Short Definition:

The horizon of a black hole is called event horizon and is an astrophysical phenomenon, which describes the “point of no return” where matter and even light can not cross back according to our understandings of physics. The event horizon is a boundary in spacetime, where the gravitational pull becomes absolute.

Detailed Definition:

The astrophysical phenomenon of the event horizon defines the boundary of spacetime, where the ability of mass to deform spacetime is absolute.

Near this event horizon time seems to work differently, because of gravitational time dilation, which appears to slow down clocks near the horizon more than those farther away and the clock would take an infinite amount of time to reach the black hole in itself.

The huge amounts of gravitational pull causes any light to redshift in a process called gravitational redshift. A clock that is falling into a black hole would change from being visible from an outside perspective, to the light of it red shifting and then finally it would disappear from view and all this in a mere minute. On the contrary an indestructible observer that falls into a black hole would experience time normally and it would fall into the black hole in a finite amount of time.

Etymology:

Black hole  term was coined in astronomy in 1964

Horizon Greekhorizon (kyklos) àboundary

Sample Sentence(s):

From an outside perspective an object falling into the black hole horizon would take an infinite amount of time to reach it.

Sloan Digital Sky Survey image of blazar Markarian 421.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markarian_421#/media/File:SDSS_Mrk_421.jpg

Short Definition:

A blazar is a type of active galaxy nucleus with a jet composed of ionized matter traveling at nearly the speed of light, which direction is nearly towards an observer. Due to the jet almost directly shooting towards Earth, a blazar appears much brighter on observations than in case of facing another direction. Blazars are a source of powerful radiation in all electromagnetic spectrum, especially in high-energy gamma rays. Blazars are among the most energetic phenomena in the universe and are an important subject to research. 

Detailed Definition:

Blazars are an extremely bright, starlike object characterized by rapid changes in luminosity and a flat spectrum caused by a jet composed of ionized matter traveling at nearly the speed of light directed at the observer. Blazars emit electromagnetic radiation over a very wide range of frequencies, but mostly distinguished by amount of radio and gamma rays. Due to blazar's instabilities its properties change over time, specifically the variability and intensity of their observable brightness, which is distinguishing blazars from another class of active galactic nucleus, quasars. Blazars are important topics of research in astronomy and astrophysics. Blazar research includes investigation of the properties of accretion disks and jets, the central supermassive black holes and surrounding host galaxies, and the emission of high-energy photons, cosmic rays, and neutrinos.

Etymology:

Coined by 1978 by astronomer Edward Spiegel from BL Lac object and quasar.

Sample Sentence(s):

"Blazars are thought to be active galactic nuclei, with relativistic jets oriented close to the line of sight with the observer."
“Strong γ-ray emission is detected in blazars only.”

Translations:

French: 

Blazar

German:

Blazare

Polish:

Blazar

Swedish:

Blazar

Links to Videos/Articles:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blazar

Source:

Short Definition:
A Comet is a small object orbiting the star (e.g. the Sun) composed of dust, rock and ices. Comets appear in our solar system and have mostly origin in Kuiper belt or Oort Cloud.

Detailed Definition:
Comets show up periodically, orbiting a star on the ecliptic orbit with different span from several to thousands of years. The comet appearance changes depending on the distance from the source of heat. If the comet is far away from the star, it only consists of the nucleus. After approaching the source of a heat, the surface of the icy heart of the comet starts heating up and slowly transforms into gas, creating a coma (fuzzy cloud of gas and dust) around the nucleus. When the coma appears, two tails spread behind the nucleus. Due to the ion tail's electric charge, it always points away from the star. The dust tail indicates the path of the nucleus, which is wide, curved and spread behind the nucleus for millions of miles. The most popular comet is Halley's Comet (1P/Halley) which is visible from Earth every 75–79 years.

Sample Sentence(s):
There are likely billions of comets orbiting our Sun in the Kuiper Belt and even more distant Oort Cloud.

French:
La comète

German:
der Komet

Polish:
Kometa

Swedish:
Komet

Spanish
El cometa

Links to Videos/Articles:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/comets/overview/
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/comets/en/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet#Etymology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Encke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_Comet

Term/Concept: 

constellation

Image/Video/Audio:

Image/Video/Audio Source:

Short Definition:

Detailed Definition:

Etymology:

Sample Sentence(s):

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]

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Polish:

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Links to Videos/Articles:

Image:

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Short Definition:

The concept of an organized system with pattern and order in the universe.

Detailed Definition:

The idea of the physical universe as a whole system, one having order and pattern. The understanding of the cosmos has been evolving with new discoveries about the universe. This leads to the definition of cosmology as the history of the study of the cosmos as a whole.

Etymology:

Cosmos comes from the Latin Kosmos, which means order or world.

Sample Sentence(s):

The cosmos may now be represented digitally by scientists.

Scientists are hunting for hints as to how the universe came into being.

Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages

French: cosmos

German: Kosmos

Polish: kosmos

Swedish: kosmos

Links to Videos/Articles:

https://www.nationalgeographicla.com/cosmos

Dedal crater on the Moon

Source:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moon_Dedal_crater.jpg 

Short Definition:

An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid cosmic body shaped by the hypervelocity collision of a smaller object. Impact craters are the major geographic features on a lot of solid Solar System objects, including the Moon, Mercury, plus the majority of small moons and asteroids.

Detailed Definition:

An impact crater is a circular distortion on the surface of a celestial body caused by the collision of a meteorite, asteroid or comet. Craters are the most common features of the exterior of rocky and rock-ice bodies in the Solar System. The observed number of craters contains data about the age of the geological structure covered by them.  Impact craters should be distinguished from similar structures of other origin, for instance, volcanic craters.

Etymology:

First coined in 1613, from Latin crātēr (“basin”) and from Ancient Greek κρᾱτήρ (krātḗr, “mixing-bowl, wassail-bowl”).

Sample Sentence(s):

"Because of the many missions studying Mars since the 1960s, there is good coverage of its surface, which contains large numbers of craters."
"Complex craters have uplifted centers, and they have typically broad flat shallow crater floors, and terraced walls."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_crater

Translations:

French: 

Cratère

German:

Krater

Polish:

Krater

Swedish:

Krater

Links to Videos/Articles:

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat#/media/File:Ncube2.jpg

Short definition: 

A cube satellite is a standardized miniature satellite, widely used for simpler tasks that require orbital position, as well as for engineering project and research. Due to standardized dimensions and small size, cube sats, as they are also known, are much more affordable than regular big satellites

Detailed Definition:

CubeSats is a class of miniaturized satellite that weight less than 2kg and are usually shaped as a 10cm cube (10cm is referred to as 1U). They are put into orbit by ISS or launched as secondary payload. As of end of 2021, more than 1600 of them have been launched. Cube sats are usually used for experiments that involve hardware which can be miniaturized, like earth observation, amateur radio or research projects. They are also used to demonstrate spacecraft technologies that are either designed for a small satellites or are too expensive or uncertain to safely involve them into a regular size satellite.

Etymology:

Cube – Greek - (kybos)  a six-sided die

Sample Sentence(s):

"CubeSats are employed to demonstrate spacecraft technologies."

"Like larger satellites, CubeSats often feature multiple computers handling different tasks in parallel including the attitude control."

Translations:

French: cube satellite

German: der Würfelsatellit

Swedish: kubformad satellit

Polish: satelita sześcianu

Links to videos/articles:

https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/cubesat/what-is-a-cubesat.asp

Picture: Fornax Dwarf Galaxy

Image/Video/Audio Source:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fornax_dwarf_galaxy.jpg

Short Definition:

A dwarf galaxy is one that contains fewer stars than larger galaxies. A dwarf galaxy is a galaxy made up of material and dark matter ejected from larger galaxies by the force of gravity. Although a dwarf galaxy is defined by astronomers by the number of stars it contains, and hence its size, it is also defined as dwarf by its shape, content, and even appearance.

Detailed Definition:

Dwarf galaxies, formed from fragments of larger galaxies, are the most abundant type of galaxy in the universe. Dwarf galaxies are galaxies that break apart due to their relatively small size to their neighbors, causing stellar streams and galaxy mergers. However dynamic these relationships with neighboring galaxies may be, they are difficult to detect by astronomers due to their low light, mass and small size. The astronomical importance of these dwarf galaxies actually comes from their tendency to form from other large galaxies and merge again with larger galaxies. Their difference from the usual galaxy shape is that they have low metallicity and gas in abundance. This situation is used by astronomers as evidence to interpret the motion and evolution of galaxies. Dwarf galaxies are basically divided into three groups: Dwarf elliptical galaxies, dwarf spheroidal galaxies, and dwarf irregular galaxies.

Etymology:

From Old English ‘Dweorg’ + From Latin ‘Galaxias’

Sample Sentence(s):

‘’The most powerful space telescope currently operating has zoomed in on a lonely dwarf galaxy in our galactic neighborhood, imaging it in stunning detail.’’

(Lea, R. (2022, November 11). James Webb Space Telescope peers into lonely dwarf galaxy with sparkling results. Space.com. https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-wlm-dwarf-galaxy-image)

‘’This Living Collection starts with an introductory Comment and continues with a series of articles on the science of dwarf galaxies, their properties and their theoretical modelling and simulations.’’

(It’s time for some plane speaking. (2021, December 13). Nature. https://www.nature.com/collections/bgegjajcec error=cookies_not_supported&code=03e197b7-7ba4-4db9-a0c7-ee3cf2730af7)

Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages:

French:

Galaxie Naine

German:

Zwerggalaxie

Polish:

Galaktyka karłowata

Swedish:

Turkish:

Cüce Gökada

Links to Videos/Articles:

https://esahubble.org/wordbank/dwarf-galaxy/

https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/D/dwarf+galaxy

https://www.sciencealert.com/webb-is-giving-us-a-stunning-new-look-into-this-lonely-dwarf-galaxy

https://esawebb.org/images/WLMb/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcDrvX6vy0k&ab_channel=EuropeanSouthernObservatory%28ESO%29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gez1RSHQvDE&ab_channel=Engadget

Image/Video/Audio Source:

Short Definition:
An eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon caused by the specific location of the three celestial bodies placed in one line. Three types of the eclipse can be distinguished: a total eclipse, a partial or an annular eclipse.

Detailed Definition:
An eclipse is an event that corresponds to the particular position of the celestial bodies. The phrase eclipse is most frequently used to refer to either a solar eclipse, which occurs when the Moon's shadow passes across the surface of the Earth, or a lunar eclipse, which occurs when the Moon enters the Earth's shadow.  It can infer from the name what becomes darker when an eclipse occurs. The Sun becomes dimmer during a solar eclipse. A lunar eclipse causes the Moon to dim. An eclipse view may differ depending on the area in which it is seen. A total eclipse is extremely rare. Only a few minutes of a solar eclipse are typically visible in the same location on Earth every 375 years on average. About twice a year, a partial eclipse can be seen anywhere in the world.

Sample Sentence(s):
The next total eclipse will be visible on the 8^th of April 2024 in Mexico. The next annular eclipse will be visible on the 14^th of October 2023.

Une éclipse

German:
die Finsternis

En eklips

Spanish:
El eclipse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse
https://www.britannica.com/science/eclipse
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/eclipses/en/
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/eclipse-snap/en/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_solar_eclipses_in_the_21st_century

Source:

Short definition: 

An ephemeris is a table or data file that gives the positions of celestial objects at specific times.

Detailed Definition:

An ephemeris is a detailed table or data file that provides the positions of celestial objects in the sky at specific times. Ephemerides are used in astronomy to predict the future positions of these objects and to understand their orbits and movements. They can be calculated for any point in time and are usually given for a series of times at regular intervals, such as every day or every hour. Initially ephemerides were written, then printed, nowadays, they are digital. Ephemerides of the Solar System play a crucial role in navigating spacecraft.

Etymology:

ephemeris (Latin) - diary; ephemeris (Greek) - diary, journal

Sample Sentence(s):

"I consulted an ephemeris to find out when the next solar eclipse would occur."

"The astronomer used an ephemeris to predict when the comet would be visible in the sky."

"Ephemerides are widely used in astrology."

Translations:

French:

Éphéméride

German:

Ephemeriden

Polish:

Efemeryd

Swedish:

Efemerid

Links to videos/articles:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephemeris

https://www.astro.com/swisseph/swepha_e.htm

https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/