Dictionary of Space Concepts

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Short Definition:

A Lagrange Point is a place where the gravitation force of two large masses (for example the earth and sun) addition together, so that a small object (for example a spacecraft or a telescope) can move with the two large masses on a path.

There are 5 different Lagrange points in total for each constellation.

Detailed Definition:

In the spot of a Lagrange point, the gravitational force by two large masses equal the centripetal force (the force that makes a body follow a curved path), which is required for the small mass to move along the two large masses and can reduce the fuel usage.

The Lagrange points L1,L2 and L3 are unstable, which can lead to an unwanted movement of the small mass away from the Lagrange point if a force is properly applied to the small mass. The Lagrange points L4 and L5 are stable.

The calculation is done by solving the three-body problem, where the Lagrange points are the constant solution for.

Etymology:

The word point originated from the Latin word pungere("to prick, pierce").

Sample Sentence(s):

"The Lagrange point L2 is the position of the James Webb Space Telescope."

Translations:

French: PointdeLagrange

German: Lagrange-punkt

Links to Videos/Articles:

https://www.chicagospace.org/the-five-lagrange-points-l1-l2-l3-l4-and-l5/

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/754/what-is-a-lagrange-point/

https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/What_are_Lagrange_points

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=foyJzvpeaBE

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Short Definition:

A lenticular galaxy is a type of galaxy which contains a large-scale disc but does not have large-scale spiral arms.

Detailed Definition:

Galaxies can be divided into various types - spiral, elliptical, lenticular and irregular. A lenticular galaxy exhibits characteristics of both an elliptical and a spiral galaxy. It is determined by a central bulge and disks (as in the case of an ellipcital galaxy) combined with the absence of arms, which can be found in spiral galaxies just as the Milky Way. The name refers to the shape of the galaxy, which is very similar to a lens.

Etymology:

lenticular (lĕn-tĭk′yə-lər) - Latin lenticularis - having the shape of a double-convex lens

Sample Sentence(s):

"Lenticular galaxies tend to be old galaxies that have used up most of their gas and dust and are just living the twilight years."

Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages

French: Galaxie lenticulaire

German: Linsenförmige Galaxie

Polish:  Galaktyka soczewkowata

Swedish:  Linsformad galax

Links to Videos/Articles:

https://scitechdaily.com/hubble-image-of-the-week-lenticular-galaxy-ngc-2655/

https://www.universeguide.com/fact/lenticulargalaxy

https://www.thoughtco.com/lenticular-galaxies-structure-formation-3072047

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Short Definition:

Light pollution is the effect of excessive or poor use of artificial outdoor light sources. There are several negative impacts from it: it disrupts both the human sleep and natural patterns of wildlife, it is a factor in the increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and obscures the celestial bodies in the night sky.

Detailed Definition:

Light pollution, also referred to as luminous pollution, is the negative consequence of excess of artificial light and its misuse. There are several major repercussions to the increasing amounts of light in the night sky, such as sky glow, disruption of natural body rhythms in both human and animals, and the obscured ability of celestial object observation. The sky glow is the over presence of artificial light in densely populated areas after sunset, which results in disruptions of melatonin hormone in humans, causing sleep deprivation, fatigue, headaches, stress, and anxiety. Studies indicate a connection between the low melatonin levels and cancer. Light pollution also impacts the behaviour of animals, such as migration patterns, wake-sleep habits and habitat formation. Sky glow impairs the research of the night sky, obscuring stars and other celestial bodies.

Etymology:

"light" - Old English leht, West Saxon leoht, German Licht - brightness, radiant energy, that which makes things visible

"pollution" - Late Latin pollutionem, Latin polluere - defilement, to soil, defile, contaminate

Sample Sentence(s):

"Light pollution disrupts astronomers in their study of space."

"It is increasingly difficult to appreciate the beauty of the evening sky, as the light pollution obscures the visibility of stars."

Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages

French: Pollution lumineuse

German: Lichtverschmutzung

Polish: Zanieczyszczenie światłem

Swedish: Ljusförorening

Links to Videos/Articles:

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/light-pollution

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/mapmaker-light-pollution

https://planetfacts.org/light-pollution/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdIGJNVUwmE

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

Short Definition:

The Low Earth Orbit (in short, LEO) is an orbit that is relatively low compared to typical space orbits. An object orbiting Earth above 100 km and below 2000 km can be described as orbiting on Low Earth Orbit. In terms of orbiting time, a low Earth orbit have an orbiting period of 128 minutes or less. Low Earth Orbit is often used as temporary orbit for spacecrafts travelling further into space. 

Detailed Definition:

The Low Earth Orbit (LEO in short) is a zone around Earth from a 100 km (Kármán line) to about 2000 km above Earth's surface. Due to orbits shape varying from circles to ellipses, better description is done using time. A body orbiting at the Low Earth Orbit has an orbiting time around 128 minutes or less. The pull of gravity in the LEO is only slightly less than on the Earth's surface, and the orbiting body still encounters atmospheric drag from present gas particles. Due to this, the LEO is often used as a transitive stage for spaceships traveling further into space, as the mean orbital velocity needed to maintain a stable low Earth orbit is about 7.8 km/s, rather than being used as a stable orbit due to constant need of course correction. The most famous spacecraft orbiting in the LEO is the International Space Station, orbiting at around 400 km above Earth’s surface.

Etymology:

Low - From Middle English lowe, lohe, lāh, from Old Norse lágr (“low”)
Earth - From Middle English erthe, from Old English eorþe ("ground, soil, dirt")
Orbit - From Middle English orbite, orbita, from Latin orbita (“course, track, impression, mark”)

Sample Sentence(s):

"The International Space Station is the largest modular space station currently in the Low Earth Orbit."
"The Low Earth orbit requires the lowest amount of energy for satellite placement."

Translations:

French: 

Orbite terrestre basse

German:

Niedrige Erdumlaufbahn

Polish:

Niska orbita okołoziemska

Swedish:

Låg omloppsbana

Links to Videos/Articles:

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/03/Low_Earth_orbit
https://www.space.com/low-earth-orbit

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Detailed Definition:

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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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Image: The solar system and the phases of the moon

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Short Definition:

Lunar Theory is the measurement and prediction of the movements of the moon as a method of a priori deduction with the principles of the laws of gravity. For the first time in the modern era, Isaac Newton mentioned in his book Principia in 1687 that the motion of the moon could be calculated mathematically by the law of gravity.

Detailed Definition:

Lunar theory, the theory that the movements of the moon can be calculated by gravitational laws, put forward by Isaac Newton in 1687, is a cumulative result of moon observations that found their roots in ancient Babylonian, Greek and Arabian geography. In his book, Newton's Principia, he made the first inferences about how the gravitational motion of the Earth and Moon towards the sun could be measured mathematically. With the development of technology, especially after the 1960s, lunar theory has been retested with the help of automatic digital computation and modern observational data-types. With computer-assisted algebra, new analytical developments have been experienced, and new analytical theories have been created.

Etymology:

Lunar – Latin (lūnāris)

Theory – Ancient Greek (theōréō )

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

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

Sample Sentence(s):

‘’These views, however, are due to a lack of understanding of the close relation that exists between the kinematical model of Horrocks, and the dynamical lunar theory of Newton.’’

(Newton’s lunar theory. (n.d.). http://physics.ucsc.edu/. http://physics.ucsc.edu/~michael/koll.html)

‘’Newton's dynamics, and his lunar theory especially, were difficult for his contemporaries and they are perhaps even more difficult now.’’

(Success and failure in newton’s lunar theory. (n.d.). Oxford Academic. https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/41/6/6.21/225623)

Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages:

French:

Théorie lunaire

German:

Mondtheorie

Polish:

Teoria Księżyca

Swedish:

Månteori

Turkish:

Ay Teorisi

Links to Videos/Articles:

Newton’s lunar theory. (n.d.). http://physics.ucsc.edu/. http://physics.ucsc.edu/~michael/koll.html

ScienceClic English. (2019, January 5). Newton’s Gravity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE5LBi7hZkU

Success and failure in newton’s lunar theory. (n.d.). Oxford Academic. https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article/41/6/6.21/225623

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Short definition:

A robot manipulator is a multi-segmented electronically controlled mechanism that performs tasks by interacting with its surroundings. They are also commonly known as robotic arms. They are widely used in the industry to assist workers to deal with radioactive or biological hazard materials, moving or lifting objects that are too heavy. 

Detailed Definition:

A manipulator is a tool used in robotics to move objects around without the operator having to touch them directly. They have been used in a variety of applications, including robotic surgery, welding automation, and space travel. It is an arm-like device made up of several sliding or jointed segments known as cross-slides that can grip and move items with a variety of degrees of freedom.

A manipulator is a lift-assist device used in industrial ergonomics to assist workers in lifting, moving, and placing objects that are too heavy, too hot, too big, or otherwise too challenging for one worker to handle manually.  A column boom manipulator is utilized in welding to improve deposition rates, decrease human error, and lower costs in a manufacturing environment.

Furthermore, manipulator tooling allows the lift assist to pitch, roll, or spin the part for proper placement. For example, removing a part from a horizontal press and pitching it up for vertical placement in a rack, or rolling a part over to expose the back of the part.

Sample sentence:

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French: 

German:

Manipulator

Polish:

Manipulator

Swedish:

Manipulator

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Short Definition:

A Mars habitat is a proposed idea to colonize Mars and establish an autonomous colony. The horrid conditions of Mars will pose an almost insurmountable problem, where concrete solutions still elude us. In theory, Elon Musk said that a crewed landing would occur in 2029, which Is still 6 years away, but this seems to be an unachievable goal in the near future.

Detailed Definition:

A Mars habitat would be a habitat on Mars where humans’ strife to be self-sufficient. In some ways, Mars is even similar to the Earth, but it just differs in too many life essential conditions. The mean temperature on Mars only reaches -63°C and the average natural radiation levels are 40-50 times higher than on Earth due to the missing Ozone layer on Mars. These conditions would be enough to classify it as horrid, but the list goes on. Breathing normally is impossible due to the wrong gas composition, and even the ground you would walk on is cancerous. Another negative is the different gravitational pull, because Mars’ gravity only reaches 38% of the gravity on Earth, which will lead to muscle atrophy and the necessity of intensive sport programs.

These conditions would make an underground base under frozen CO₂ that could be harvested from Mars and another layer of Mars soil a necessity to decrease the chance of getting cancer. At the start of the colony, only nuclear could be used as an energy option, because the varying conditions make others not effective and Mars as a whole is relatively energy poor.

Etymology:

Mars come from older Latin (older than 75 BCE) Māvors which was used as god of war from Middle English

Habitat comes from Latin habitareà meaning habitat (it dwells)

 Sample Sentence(s):

Mars habitats would have to contend with surface conditions that include almost no oxygen in the air, extreme cold, low pressure, and high radiation. (Wikipedia)

French:

Habitat mars

German:

Mars-Habitat

Polish:

Siedlisko na Marsie

Swedish:

Mars livsmiljö

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Detailed Definition:

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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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Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meridian_(astronomy)

Short definition: 

Detailed Definition:

In astronomy, a meridian is an imaginary line in the sky that runs from due north to due south, passing through the observer's location and the zenith. The zenith is the point in the sky that is directly overhead. The meridian is used to measure the altitude of objects in the sky, as well as their right ascension and declination. The meridian also marks the boundary between the eastern and western halves of the sky, with objects east of the meridian being in the morning sky and those west of the meridian being in the evening sky.

Etymology:

Latin - medius ‘middle’ + dies ‘day’.

Sample Sentence(s):

"The planet Venus will cross the meridian at 8:00 pm tonight."

"The altitude of the North Star above the horizon can be measured relative to the observer's meridian."

"The meridian passage of a celestial object is the time it crosses the observer's meridian."

Translations:

French:

Le Meridien

German:

Höhepunkt

Polish:

Południk

Links to videos/articles:

https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/m/meridian

https://www.britannica.com/science/celestial-meridian