Imagine the Universe! Dictionary
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[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]
(Note - Greek letters are written out by name - alpha, beta etc.)
Q
quasar
An enormously bright object at the edge of our universe which emits massive amounts of energy. In an optical telescope, they appear point-like, similar to stars, from which they derive their name (quasar = quasi-stellar). Current theories hold that quasars are one type of AGN.
quasi-stellar source (QSS)
Sometimes also called quasi-stellar object (QSO); A stellar-appearing object of very large redshift that is a strong source of radio waves; presumed to be extragalactic and highly luminous.
R
radial velocity
The speed at which an object is moving away or toward an observer. By observing spectral lines, astronomers can determine how fast objects are moving away from or toward us; however, these spectral lines cannot be used to measure how fast the objects are moving across the sky.
radian; rad
The supplementary SI unit of angular measure, defined as the central angle of a circle whose subtended arc is equal to the radius of the circle. One radian is approximately 57o.
radiation
Energy emitted in the form of waves (light) or particles (photons).
radiation belt
Regions of charged particles in a magnetosphere.
radio
Electromagnetic radiation which has the lowest frequency, the longest wavelength, and is produced by charged particles moving back and forth; the atmosphere of the Earth is transparent to radio waves with wavelengths from a few millimeters to about twenty meters.
Rayleigh criterion; resolving power
A criterion for how finely a set of optics may be able to distinguish the location of objects which are near each other. It begins with the assumption that the central ring of one image should fall on the first dark ring of another image; for an objective lens with diameter d and employing light with a wavelength lambda (usually taken to be 560 nm), the resolving power is approximately given by
1.22 x lambda/d
Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities
Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities occur when a heavy (more dense) fluid is pushed against a light fluid -- like trying to balance water on top of air by filling a glass 1/2 full and carefully turning it over. Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities are important in many astronomical objects, because the two fluids trade places by sticking "fingers" into each other. These "fingers" can drag the magnetic field lines along with them, thus both enhancing and aligning the magnetic field. This result is evident in the example of a supernova remnant in the diagram below, from Chevalier (1977):
red giant
A star that has low surface temperature and a diameter that is large relative to the Sun.
redshift
An apparent shift toward longer wavelengths of spectral lines in the radiation emitted by an object caused by the emitting object moving away from the observer. See also Doppler effect.
reflection law
For a wavefront intersecting a reflecting surface, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, in the same plane defined by the ray of incidence and the normal.
relativity principle
The principle, employed by Einstein's relativity theories, that the laws of physics are the same, at least locally, in all coordinate frames. This principle, along with the principle of the constancy of the speed of light, constitutes the founding principles of special relativity.
relativity, theory of
Theories of motion developed by Albert Einstein, for which he is justifiably famous. Relativity More accurately describes the motions of bodies in strong gravitational fields or at near the speed of light than Newtonian mechanics. All experiments done to date agree with relativity's predictions to a high degree of accuracy. (Curiously, Einstein received the Nobel prize in 1921 not for Relativity but rather for his 1905 work on the photoelectric effect.)
resolution (spatial)
In astronomy, the ability of a telescope to differentiate between two objects in the sky which are separated by a small angular distance. The closer two objects can be while still allowing the telescope to see them as two distinct objects, the higher the resolution of the telescope.
resolution (spectral or frequency)
Similar to spatial resolution except that it applies to frequency, spectral resolution is the ability of the telescope to differentiate two light signals which differ in frequency by a small amount. The closer the two signals are in frequency while still allowing the telescope to separate them as two distinct components, the higher the spectral resolution of the telescope.
resonance
A relationship in which the orbital period of one body is related to that of another by a simple integer fraction, such as 1/2, 2/3, 3/5.
retrograde
The rotation or orbital motion of an object in a clockwise direction when viewed from the north pole of the ecliptic; moving in the opposite sense from the great majority of solar system bodies.
revolution
The movement of one celestial body which is in orbit around another. It is often measured as the "orbital period."
Right Ascension
A coordinate which, along with declination, may be used to locate any position in the sky. Right ascension is analogous to longitude for locating positions on the Earth.
Ritter, Johann Wilhelm (1776 - 1810)
Ritter is credited with discovering and investigating the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Roche limit
The smallest distance from a planet or other body at which purely gravitational forces can hold together a satellite or secondary body of the same mean density as the primary. At less than this distance the tidal forces of the larger object would break up the smaller object.
Roche lobe
In a binary star system, the volume around a star within which matter is gravitationally bound to that star. That is, if you were to release a particle within the Roche lobe, it would fall back onto the surface of that star. The point at which the Roche lobes of the two stars touch is called the inner Lagrangian or L1 point. If a star in a close binary system evolves to the point at which it `fills' its Roche lobe, material from this star will overflow onto the companion star (via the L1 point) and into the environment around the binary system.
Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad (1845 - 1923)
A German scientist who fortuitously discovered X-rays in 1895.
Tell me more about Wilhelm Röntgen
ROSAT
Röntgen Satellite
rotation
The spin of a celestial body on its own axis. In high energy astronomy, this is often measured as the "spin period."
S
SAS-2
The second Small Astronomy Satellite: a NASA satellite launched November 1972 with a mission dedicated to gamma-ray astronomy.
SAS-3
The third Small Astronomy Satellite: a NASA satellite launched May 1975 to determine the location of bright X-ray sources and search for X-ray novae and other transient phenomena.
satellite
A body that revolves around a larger body. A satellite can be natural or human-made. For example, the moon is a natural satellite of the Earth, and the International Space Station is a human-made satellite of Earth.
Schwarzschild black hole
A black hole described by solutions to Einstein's equations of general relativity worked out by Karl Schwarzschild in 1916. The solutions assume the black hole is not rotating, and that the size of its event horizon is determined solely by its mass.
Schwarzschild radius
The radius r of the event horizon for a Schwarzschild black hole.
scientific notation
A compact format for writing very large or very small numbers, most often used in scientific fields. The notation separates a number into two parts: a decimal fraction, usually between 1 and 10, and a power of ten. Thus 1.23 x 104 means 1.23 times 10 to the fourth power or 12,300; 5.67 x 10-8 means 5.67 divided by 10 to the eighth power or 0.0000000567.
second; s
The fundamental SI unit of time, defined as the period of time equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium-133 atom. A nanosecond is equal to one-billionth (10-9) of a second.
semimajor axis
The semimajor axis of an ellipse (e.g. a planetary orbit) is half the length of the major axis, which is the line segment passing through the foci of the ellipse with endpoints on the ellipse itself. The semimajor axis of a planetary orbit is also the average distance from the planet to its primary. The periapsis and apoapsis distances can be calculated from the semimajor axis and the eccentricity by
rp = a(1-e) and ra = a(1+e)
sensitivity
A measure of how bright objects need to be in order for that telescope to detect these objects. A highly sensitive telescope can detect dim objects, while a telescope with low sensitivity can detect only bright ones.
Seyfert galaxy
A spiral galaxy whose nucleus shows bright emission lines; one of a class of galaxies first described by C. Seyfert.
shock wave
A strong compression wave where there is a sudden change in gas velocity, density, pressure and temperature.
singularity
In astronomy, a term often used to refer to the center of a black hole, where the curvature of spacetime is maximal. At the singularity, the gravitational tides diverge; no solid object can even theoretically survive hitting the singularity. Mathematically, a singularity is a condition when equations do not give a valid value, and can sometimes be avoided by using a different coordinate system.
soft x-ray
Low energy x-rays, often from about 0.1 keV to 10 keV. The dividing line between soft and hard x-rays is not well defined and can depend on the context.
solar flares
Violent eruptions of gas on the Sun's surface.
solar mass
A unit of mass equivalent to the mass of the Sun.
1 solar mass = 1 Msun = 2 x 1033 grams
special relativity
The physical theory of space and time developed by Albert Einstein, based on the postulates that all the laws of physics are equally valid in all frames of reference moving at a uniform velocity and that the speed of light from a uniformly moving source is always the same, regardless of how fast or slow the source or its observer is moving. The theory has as consequences the relativistic mass increase of rapidly moving objects, time dilatation, and the principle of mass-energy equivalence. See also general relativity.
spectral line
Light given off at a specific frequency by an atom or molecule. Every different type of atom or molecule gives off light at its own unique set of frequencies; thus, astronomers can look for gas containing a particular atom or molecule by tuning the telescope to one of the gas's characteristic frequencies. For example, carbon monoxide (CO) has a spectral line at 115 Gigahertz (or a wavelength of 2.7 mm).
spectrometer
The instrument connected to a telescope that separates the light signals into different frequencies, producing a spectrum.
A Dispersive Spectrometer is like a prism. It scatters light of different energies to different places. We measure the energy by noting where the X-rays go. A Non-Dispersive Spectrometer measures the energy directly.
spectroscopy
The study of spectral lines from different atoms and molecules. Spectroscopy is an important part of studying the chemistry that goes on in stars and in interstellar clouds.
spectrum (plural: spectra)
A plot of the intensity of light at different frequencies. Or the distribution of wavelengths and frequencies.
speed of light (in vacuum)
The speed at which electromagnetic radiation propagates in a vacuum; it is defined as 299 792 458 m/s (186,282 miles/second). Einstein's Theory of Relativity implies that nothing can go faster than the speed of light.
star
A large ball of gas that creates and emits its own radiation.
star cluster
A bunch of stars (ranging in number from a few to hundreds of thousands) which are bound to each other by their mutual gravitational attraction.
Stefan-Boltzmann constant; sigma (Stefan, L. Boltzmann)
The constant of proportionality present in the Stefan-Boltzmann law. It is equal to 5.6697 x 10-8 Watts per square meter per degree Kelvin to the fourth power (see scientific notation).
Stefan-Boltzmann law (Stefan, L. Boltzmann)
The radiated power P (rate of emission of electromagnetic energy) of a hot body is proportional to the radiating surface area, A, and the fourth power of the thermodynamic temperature, T. The constant of proportionality is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant.
stellar classification
Stars are given a designation consisting of a letter and a number according to the nature of their spectral lines which corresponds roughly to surface temperature. The classes are: O, B, A, F, G, K, and M; O stars are the hottest; M the coolest. The numbers are simply subdivisions of the major classes. The classes are oddly sequenced because they were assigned long ago before we understood their relationship to temperature. O and B stars are rare but very bright; M stars are numerous but dim. The Sun is designated G2.
stellar wind
The ejection of gas off the surface of a star. Many different types of stars, including our Sun, have stellar winds; however, a star's wind is strongest near the end of its life when it has consumed most of its fuel.
steradian; sr
The supplementary SI unit of solid angle defined as the solid central angle of a sphere that encloses a surface on the sphere equal to the square of the sphere's radius.
supernova (plural: supernovae)
(a)The death explosion of a massive star, resulting in a sharp increase in brightness followed by a gradual fading. At peak light output, these type of supernova explosions (called Type II supernovae) can outshine a galaxy. The outer layers of the exploding star are blasted out in a radioactive cloud. This expanding cloud, visible long after the initial explosion fades from view, forms a supernova remnant (SNR).
(b) The explosion of a white dwarf which has accumulated enough material from a companion star to achieve a mass equal to the Chandrasekhar limit. These types of supernovae (called Type Ia) have approximate the same intrinsic brightness, and can be used to determine distances.
sunspots
Cooler (and thus darker) regions on the sun where the magnetic field loops up out of the solar surface.
Suzaku
A Japanese X-ray satellite observatory for which NASA provided X-ray mirrors and an X-ray Spectrometer using a calorimeter design. Suzaku (formerly known as Astro-E2) was successfully launched in July 2005.
SXG
The Spectrum X-Gamma mission.
Swift
Swift is a NASA mid-sized mission whose primary goal is to study gamma-ray bursts and address the mysteries surrounding their nature, origin, and causes. Swift launched November 20, 2004.
synchronous rotation
Said of a satellite if the period of its rotation about its axis is the same as the period of its orbit around its primary. This implies that the satellite always keeps the same hemisphere facing its primary (e.g. the Moon). It also implies that one hemisphere (the leading hemisphere) always faces in the direction of the satellite's motion while the other (trailing) one always faces backward.
synchrotron radiation
Electromagnetic radiation given off when very high energy electrons encounter magnetic fields.
Systéme Internationale d'Unités (SI)
The coherent and rationalized system of units, derived from the MKS system (which itself is derived from the metric system), in common use in physics today. The fundamental SI unit of length is the meter, of time is the second, and of mass is the kilogram.
T
Tenma
The second Japanese X-ray mission, also known as Astro-B.
Thomson, William 1824 - 1907
Also known as Lord Kelvin, the British physicist who developed the Kelvin temperature scale and who supervised the laying of a trans-Atlantic cable.
time dilation
The increase in the time between two events as measured by an observer who is outside of the reference frame in which the events take place. The effect occurs in both special and general relativity, and is quite pronounced for speeds approaching the speed of light, and in regions of high gravity.
U
Uhuru
NASA's first Small Astronomy Satellite, also known as SAS-1. Uhuru was launched from Kenya on 12 December, 1970; The seventh anniversary of Kenya's independence. The satellite was named "Uhuru" (Swahili for "freedom") in honor of its launch date.
ultraviolet
Electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths shorter than the violet end of visible light; the atmosphere of the Earth effectively blocks the transmission of most ultraviolet light.
universal constant of gravitation; G
The constant of proportionality in Newton's law of universal gravitation and which plays an analogous role in A. Einstein's general relativity. It is equal to 6.67428 x 10-11 m3 / kg-sec2, a value recommended in 2006 by the Committee on Data for Science and Technology. (Also see scientific notation.)
Universe
Everything that exists, including the Earth, planets, stars, galaxies, and all that they contain; the entire cosmos.
V
Vela 5B
US Atomic Energy Commission (now the Department of Energy) satellite with an all-sky X-ray monitor.
The Venera satellite series
The Venera satellites were a series of probes (fly-bys and landers) sent by the Soviet Union to the planet Venus. Several Venera satellites carried high-energy astrophysics detectors.
visible
Electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths which the human eye can see. We perceive this radiation as colors ranging from red (longer wavelengths; ~ 700 nanometers) to violet (shorter wavelengths; ~400 nanometers.)
W
wave-particle duality
The principle of quantum mechanics which implies that light (and, indeed, all other subatomic particles) sometimes act like a wave, and sometimes act like a particle, depending on the experiment you are performing. For instance, low frequency electromagnetic radiation tends to act more like a wave than a particle; high frequency electromagnetic radiation tends to act more like a particle than a wave.
wavelength
The distance between adjacent peaks in a series of periodic waves. Also see electromagnetic spectrum.
white dwarf
A star that has exhausted most or all of its nuclear fuel and has collapsed to a very small size. Typically, a white dwarf has a radius equal to about 0.01 times that of the Sun, but it has a mass roughly equal to the Sun's. This gives a white dwarf a density about 1 million times that of water!
Wien's displacement law
For a blackbody, the product of the wavelength corresponding to the maximum radiancy and the thermodynamic temperature is a constant. As a result, as the temperature rises, the maximum of the radiant energy shifts toward the shorter wavelength (higher frequency and energy) end of the spectrum.
WIMP (weakly interacting massive particle)
Theoretical subatomic particles that do not respond to electromagnetic force or interact through strong nuclear force, but would interact only through weak nuclear force and gravity. Because of these properties, they are difficult to detect, and are therefore considered "dark" — hence, WIMPs are a possible form of dark matter.
WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe)
A NASA satellite designed to detect fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background. From its initial results published in Feb 2003, astronomers pinpointed the age of the universe, its geometry, and when the first stars appeared.
WWW
The World Wide Web -- a loose linkage of Internet sites which provide data and other services from around the world.
X
XMM-Newton
The X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, launched by the European Space Agency in 1999. Observation targets include quasars, gamma-ray bursts, galaxy clusters and comets. The telescope's field of view is 30 arcmin, in the energy range from 0.15 to 15 keV.
X-ray
Electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength and very high-energy; X-rays have shorter wavelengths than ultraviolet light but longer wavelengths than gamma rays.
XSELECT
A software tools used by astrophysicists in conjunction with the FTOOLS software to analyze certain types of astronomical data.
XTE
X-ray Timing Explorer, also known as the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE).
Y
Z
Z
The ratio of the observed change in wavelength of light emitted by a moving object to the rest wavelength of the emitted light. See Doppler Effect. This ratio is related to the velocity of the object. In general, with v = velocity of the object, c is the speed of light, lambda is the rest wavelength, and delta-lambda is the observed change in the wavelength, z is given by
z = (delta-lambda)/lambda = (sqrt(1+v/c) / sqrt(1-v/c)) - 1.
If the velocity of the object is small compared to the speed of light, then
z = (delta-lambda)/lambda = v/c
Objects at the furthest reaches of the known universe have values of z = 5 or slightly greater.