An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

The main rainbow that forms between about 40° and 42° from the → antisolar point (or about 50° from the → antisolar point), as viewed by the observer. The light path involves → refraction and a → single  → reflection inside the water → droplet. If the drops are large, 1 millimeter or more in diameter, red, green, and violet are bright but there is little blue.

As the droplets get smaller, red weakens.

Rainbows are not seen in midday since the whole 42° circle is below the horizon at most latitudes. So rainbows tend to be seen most in the later afternoon when a thundershower has passed and the Sun is illuminating from the west.

→ primary; → rainbow.

In a → multiple star system, the most massive → component. In other words, the star nearest to the system's → center of garvity.

→ primary; → star .

1) Of the first importance; of the highest rank.
2) Same as → prime number.

M.E., from L. primarius "of the first rank, principal," from primus "first."

Naxost, naxostin, naxosti, from Mid.Pers. naxust "the first," Parthian Mid.Pers. nxwšt, from naxu, Manichean Parthian nwx "beginning" + -ist superlative suffix, Av. -išta-, cf. Skt. -istha-, Gk. -istos, O.H.G. -isto, -osto, O.E. -st, -est, -ost.

The focal point of a large primary reflecting mirror. This focus actually falls at a point just within the upper structure of the telescope and provides a large field of view.

→ primary; → focus.

The meridian at which longitude is defined to be 0°. The meridian running through Greenwich.

→ primary; → meridian.

A number which is divisible by no whole number other than itself and one.

→ prime; → number.

The great circle through the observer's zenith that intersects the horizon at the west and east points. → vertical circle.

→ primary; → vertical.

Lemaître's (1931) name for the early dense Universe, which later became known as the → Big Bang theory.

From L. primaevus "early in life," from primus "first," → prime, + aevum "an age," + → -al; → atom.

Pertaining to or existing at or from the very beginning.

From L.L. primordialis "first of all, original," from L. primordium "the beginning," from primus "first" + stem of ordiri "to begin."

Bonâqâzin, from bon "basis; root; foundation; bottom" (Mid.Pers. bun "root; foundation; beginning," Av. būna- "base, depth," cf. Skt. bundha-, budhná- "base, bottom," Pali bunda- "root of tree") + âqâzin "pertaining to the beginning," from âqâz "beginning" (Proto-Iranian *āgāza-, from prefix ā- + *gāz- "to take, receive," cf. Sogdian āγāz "beginning, start," pcγz "reception, taking").

The relative amount of a light element (e.g. deuterium, lithium, helium) synthesized in the early Universe.

→ primordial; → abundance.

A black hole formed following the Big Bang event due to incredibly violent turbulence that squeezed concentrations of matter to high densities. These black holes, first suggested by Stephen Hawking, are expected to have a mass comparable to that of a mountain and a size as small as an atom. Same as → mini black hole.

→ primordial; → black hole.

In cosmological models, the phenomenon that is supposed to seed the → cosmic microwave background anisotropies and the structure formation of the Universe.

→ primordial; → curvature; → perturbation.

A high redshift, metal-deficient galaxy that formed very early in the history of the Universe.

→ primordial; → galaxy.

The helium element created in the → early Universe, around 3 minutes after the → Big Bang, when the temperature dropped to 10⁹ degrees; in contrast to the helium being synthesized in stars. Based on observations of helium → emission lines in → H II regions of metal-poor dwarf galaxies (→ metal-deficient galaxy), the primordial ⁴He → chemical abundance (by mass) is estimated to be Y_P = 0.24672 ± 0.00017. Moreover, using observations of a near-pristine → intergalactic cloud, a value of 0.250 ^+0.033_-0.025 has been reached (Cooke & Fumagalli, 2018, Nature Astronomy, 2, 657). The theoretical He abundance predicted by → Big Bang nucleosynthesis is 0.24709 ± 0.00017 (Pitrou et al., 2018, arXiv:1801.08023).

→ primordial; → helium.

The formation of → chemical elements in the → early Universe, between about 0.01 seconds and 3 minutes after the → Big Bang, when the nuclei of primordial matter collided and fused with one another. Most of the → helium in the → Universe was created by this process. Same as → Big Bang nucleosynthesis

→ primordial; → nucleosynthesis.

First or highest in rank, importance, value, etc. See also → main.

M.E., from O.Fr. principal, from L. principalis "first in importance," from princeps "first, chief, prince," literally "that takes first," from primus "first" + root of capere "to take."

Farin literally "foremost," from far-, Mid.Pers. fra-; O.Pers. fra- "forward, forth;" Av. frā "forth," pouruua- "first;" cf. Skt. pūrva- "first," pra- "before, formerly;" Gk. pro; L. pro; O.E. fyrst "foremost," superlative of fore, E. fore + -in superlative suffix.

1) Optics: Any imaginary line passing through the center of curvature of a → spherical mirror or → lens and the corresponding geometrical center. Principal axis is perpendicular to the mirror or lens at the pole. Rays of light parallel to the principal axis of a → concave mirror will appear to converge on a point in front of the mirror somewhere between the mirror's pole and its center of curvature. Same as → optical axis.
2) Mechanics: One of three mutually perpendicular axes of an object about which the → moment of inertia is maximum or minimum. More specifically, an object has an infinite number of moments of inertia. If an object is not symmetrical about all planes through its → center of mass, then there will be one → axis of rotation about which the moment of inertia is largest, and there will be one axis of rotation about which the moment of inertia is smallest. These two axes will always be perpendicular to each other and are the principal axes of the object. The third principal axis of an object is the axis perpendicular to these two axes. In general the → angular momentum (L) of a body spinning about a point O is not in the same direction as the axis of rotation, or that of the → angular velocity angular velocity (ω); that is L is not parallel to ω. For certain bodies, however, there can be certain axes for which L and ω are parallel. In that case L = Iω, where I is the moment of inertia about the axis in question. In a symmetric rigid body, the axes of symmetry coincide with the principal axes of the moment of inertia

→ principal; → axis.

In atomic physics, the first of a set of quantum numbers which describe an atomic orbital. Symbolized as n, it characterizes the size and energy of an orbital.

→ principal; → quantum; → number.

A fundamental, primary assumption, or general law from which others are derived.

From M.E., from O.Fr. principe, from L. principium "a beginning, first part," from princeps "first, chief, prince," literally "that takes first," from primus "first" + root of capere "to take."

Parvaz "origin, root, stock" (as used in particular by Ferdowsi); cf. Av. fra-vāza- "drawing from; leading onward," from Av. fra-, frā- "before; forward, forth" (fratəma- "first, front," pouruua- "first," fra-cara- "preceding;" O.Pers. fra- "forward, forth;" Mid.Pers. fra-; cf. Skt. pra- "before, formerly," prathama- "earliest, initial," pūrva- "first;" Gk. pro; L. pro; O.E. fyrst "foremost," superlative of fore) + vaz- "to draw, guide; bring; possess; fly; float," vazaiti "guides, leads" (cf. Skt. vah- "to carry, drive, convey," vahati "carries," pravaha- "bearing along, carrying," pravāha- "running water, stream, river;" L. vehere "to carry;" O.E. wegan "to carry;" O.N. vegr; O.H.G. weg "way," wegan "to move," wagan "cart;" M.Du. wagen "wagon;" PIE base *wegh- "to drive;" see also → flight).

Newton's third law of motion, which states that for every action there must be an equal and opposite reaction.

→ principle; → action; → reaction.