Dictionary of Space Concepts

Illustration of an emission of a gamma ray (γ) from an atomic nucleus

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray#/media/File:Gamma_Decay.svg

Short Definition:

Gamma rays are very high frequency electromagnetic radiation emitted as an outcome of radioactivity. Due to high frequency, gamma rays have very high energy. Natural sources of gamma emission originating on Earth are mainly an effect of radioactive decay and secondary radiation from atmospheric interactions among cosmic ray particles.

Detailed Definition:

A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation, is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation originating from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. Gamma rays from radioactive decay are within the energy range starting at few kiloelectronvolts (keV) to roughly 8 megaelectronvolts (MeV), matching to the usual energy levels in nuclei among reasonably long lifetimes. The energy spectrum of gamma emission can be utilized to recognize the decaying radionuclides with a technique called gamma spectroscopy. Very-high-energy gamma rays in the 100–1000 teraelectronvolt (TeV) range have been observed from sources such as the Cygnus X-3 microquasar.

Etymology:

gamma - The third letter of the Greek alphabet (Γ, γ),
radiation - From the past participle stem of Latin radiare (“to gleam, shine, beam”).

Sample Sentence(s):

"Solar flares emit across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, including gamma rays."
"Gamma rays originating from far-distant quasars are used to estimate the extragalactic background light in the universe."

Translations:

French: 

Rayon gamma

German:

Gammastrahlung

Polish:

Promieniowanie gamma

Swedish:

Gammastrålning

Links to Videos/Articles:

Projection of the path traced by geosynchronous satellites of different inclinations.

Source: Wikipedia

Short Definition:
Geosynchronous orbit is an orbit with orbital period matching Earth's full rotation time.

Detailed Definition:
Objects in geosynchronous orbit appear to trace out a path on the sky, typically a figure-8 shape every day. The exact path depends on orbit's eccentricity and inclination, but the object can be observed in the same place on the sky, same time every day. This type of orbit is useful for example for Earth observing satellites.

Etymology:
From ancient greek geo (Earth) + synchronous

Sample Sentence(s):
A satellite is placed in geosynchronous orbit above Europe.

Translations:

French:
orbite géosynchrone

German:
geosynchrone Umlaufbahn

Polish:
Orbita geosynchroniczna

Swedish:
geosynkron bana

Links to Videos/Articles:
https://www.space.com/29222-geosynchronous-orbit.html
https://gisgeography.com/geosynchronous-geostationary-orbits/

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Image: Periodical Table

Image/Video/Audio Source:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ionization_energy_periodic_table.svg

Short Definition:

Heavy elements are the general name for elements containing atomic numbers greater than 92. Above these, elements with atomic numbers 112 and above are called superheavy elements. The state that creates the atomic number is the number of protons in the nucleus of the element.

Detailed Definition:

Heavy elements, which are determined by the number of protons in the nucleus of the element (this called atomic number) are elements with atomic number greater than 92. One row above them there is superheavy elements with atomic numbers greater than 112. The first artificially produced heavy and superheavy elements were first produced during the Cyclotron experiments.

One of the most important issues about heavy elements is the concept of 'island of stability'. This concept refers to the region in the table of nucleides where elements with half-lives longer than some other super heavy elements are found. However, it should be noted that we are ona narrow time scale, from minutes to micro/nano seconds at most. The term was first coined in 1998 with the discovery of the super heavy element 114 (Flerovium).

Etymology:

Heavy – From Proto Germanic (hafiga)

Element – From Latin (elementum)

(origin and meaning of heavy. (n.d.). Etymonline. https://www.etymonline.com/word/heavy)

(element - Wiktionary. (n.d.). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/element)

Sample Sentence(s):

‘’The heaviest element known at the end of the 19th century was uranium, with an atomic mass of approximately 240 (now known to be 238) amu.’’

(Wikipedia contributors. (2022, December 31). Superheavy element. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheavy_element)

‘’Although the scientific community has assigned these heaviest elements to their own spots on the periodic table, there is still a lot we don’t know about them.’’

(Exploring the superheavy elements at the end of the periodic table. (n.d.). cen.acs.org.)

Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages:

French:

Élément lourd

German:

Schweres element

Polish:

Ciężki pierwiastek

Swedish:

Tungt element

Turkish:

Ağır Element

Links to Videos/Articles:

Cookie Absent. (n.d.). https://physicstoday.scitation.org/action/cookieAbsent

Discovery of Elements 113 and 115. (n.d.). https://pls.llnl.gov/research-and-development/nuclear-science/project-highlights/livermorium/elements-113-and-115

Seeker. (2019, November 10). This Superheavy Atom Factory Is Pushing the Limits of the Periodic Table [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg0AN8bZ4us

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, December 31). Superheavy element. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheavy_element

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Heliosphere

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Short Definition:

Light with wavelength from 800 nanometers to 1 millimiter.

Detailed Definition:

Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths ranging from 800 nanometers to one millimeter. It is next to the red end of the visible spectrum, hereby the name. Also called IR, it is a kind of electromagnetic radiation that has qualities like both a wave and a particle, the photon, and propagates energy and momentum as well as exerting radiation pressure.

Etymology:

Infrared comes from Latin: infra, which means below.

Sample Sentence(s):

To keep an eye on workplace activities, they used infrared cameras.

Without disturbing the bats, an infrared camera records them.

Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages

French: infrarouge

German: Infrarot

Polish: podczerwień

Swedish: infraröd

Links to Videos/Articles:

https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/infrared-vision

Image source:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Plot_of_various_initial_mass_functions.svg/800px-Plot_of_various_initial_mass_functions.svg.png

Short Definition:

The initial mass function (IMF) describes the distribution of stellar masses as a large cluster of stars is newly formed and is based on an average from stars in our Milky Way.

This function is useful for understanding the formation of stellar systems and their evolution. In most cases, the initial mass function is shown with a logarithmic scale.

Derailed Definition:

The initial mass function shows few massive stars which are more massive than the sun, while sun-sized stars are more abundant and stars that are smaller than the sun are quite common (this trend does not continue linear the smaller they get):

The function can be described by using the following law:

IMF = constant x m^(-α)

where m = initial star mass and α = slope of the logarithmic plot.

Until this point in time, it is not certain if the IMF varies in extreme situations and if the calculation based on our Milky Way can be unconditionally applied to other galaxies.

Etymology:

initial - Latin initialis ("initial, incipent, of the beginning")

mass - old French masse (" lump, heap, pile; crowd, large amount")

function - Latin functionem (" a performance, an execution")

Sample sentences:

There are different curve forms of the initial mass function based on the way the alpha and the constant are calculated.

Translation:

French: fonction de masse initiale

German: Anfangsmassenfunktion

Polish:początkowafunkcjamasy

Swedish: funktion för dem ursprungliga massan

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Short Definition:

The James Webb Space Telescope is a large telescope in space that conducts infrared astronomy. The cutting edge telescope technology aims to shine light on stars or galaxies, that were previously hidden in “plain” sight. Many people think this is the successor to the Hubble telescope, but in reality, it is more of a successor for the Spitzer space telescope, which also is an infrared telescope. The property of light to shift to red makes this a helpful telescope to look at the oldest galaxies.

Detailed Definition:

Etymology:

Latin- spatiumà Old French -espaceà Middle English – space

Sample Sentence(s):

Webb will be the largest telescope ever placed in space; 100 times more powerful than Hubble. So big it has to fold origami-style to fit in the rocket and will unfold like a "Transformer" in space (NASA)

French:

télescope spatial james webb

German:

James Webb Weltraumteleskop

Polish:

Kosmiczny teleskop Jamesa Webba

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Links to Videos/Articles:

https://webb.nasa.gov/ 

https://webbtelescope.org/

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Source:

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

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