An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The branch of → astronomy that deals with the → physics of → celestial objects and the → Universe in general. It relies on the assumption that the → laws of physics apply everywhere in the Universe and throughout all time. See also → observational astrophysics, → theoretical astrophysics.

Astrophysics, from → astro- "star" + → physics. The first use of the term astrophysics has been attributed to Johann Karl Friedrich Zöllner (1834-1882) in 1865. He defined it as a coalescence of physics and chemistry with astronomy (History of Astronomy: An Encyclopedia, ed. John Lankford, Routledge, 1997).

A branch of astrophysics that deals with objects emitting highly energetic radiation, such as X-ray astronomy, gamma-ray astronomy, and extreme ultraviolet astronomy, as well as neutrinos and cosmic rays.

→ high; → energy; → astrophysics.

An open-source, one-dimensional astrophysical code which is capable of calculating the evolution of stars in a wide range of environments. It works according to the → Henyey method and uses many modules that deal with various aspects of the theoretical models, such as the → equation of state (EOS), → nuclear reaction networks, → chemical composition, micro-physics, or macro-physics. The EOS and corresponding opacities or nuclear networks are provided in tabulated formats and can be selected by the user, while the micro-physics and macro-physics can be controlled by inlists of relevant parameters and settings (Paxton et al. 2015, ApJS 220, 15 and references therein).

→ module; → experiment; → stellar; → astrophysics.

That part of astrophysics that is mainly concerned with the collection of observational data, in comparison with theoretical astrophysics

→ observational; → astrophysics.

The field of → astrophysics concerned with the study of the physical characteristics of stars, more specifically their → internal structure, physical processes taking place in their interiors, atmospheres, → stellar winds, → mass loss, interaction with the → interstellar medium, as well as the physical laws governing → star formation. Same as → stellar physics and → stellar astronomy.

→ stellar; → astrophysics.

An astrophysical study or research group mainly concerned with theory rather than observation.

→ theoretical; → astrophysics.