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

The → absorption of → electromagnetic radiation from an astrophysical object by → dust grains associated with that object.

→ dust; → obscuration.

Tiregi, → obscuration, pat, → by; qobâr, → dust.

The scattering of → photons by → dust grains.

→ dust; → scattering.

A process occurring in → protoplanetary disks whereby relatively large → dust grains settle to the disk midplane. These grains, with sizes from → micron to → millimeter, grow from smaller dust grains and will eventually give rise to a planetary system.

→ dust; → settling.

An unusual, frequently severe weather condition characterized by strong winds and dust-filled air over an extensive area. See also → dust devil, → dust whirl.

→ dust; → storm.

The tail of a → comet which is caused by → solar radiation pressure forcing the dust particles away from the → coma in a curved arch. Also called a → Type II tail.

→ dust; → tail.

An indication of the heat amount received by → dust grains from the ambient → radiation field. Dust temperature depends on the optical properties and → sizes of grains (i.e., on the way they → absorb and → emit radiation) as well as on the → interstellar radiation field. Most of the visible and → ultraviolet radiation in galaxies from stars passes through clouds of particles and heats them. This heating leads to re-radiation at much longer wavelengths extending to the millimeter.

→ dust; → temperature.

A rapidly rotating column of air (whirlwind) over a dry and dusty or shady area, carrying dust, leaves, and other light material picked up from the ground (Meteorology Glossary, Amer. Meteo. Soc.). See also → dust devil, → dust storm.

→ dust; → whirl.

A → stellar wind generated by the action of → radiation pressure on dust grains. This occurs in the case of cool stars, such as → AGB stars, with → effective temperatures below 2500 K when the density is sufficiently large. Since dust is a very good continuum absorber, the dust grains will be radiatively accelerated outward.

→ dust; → drive; → wind.

1) Something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal → obligation.
2) The binding or obligatory force of something that is morally or legally right; moral or legal obligation.
3) An → action or → task required by a person's position or occupation; → function (Dictionary.com).

M.E. du(e)te, from Anglo-Fr. duete, from O.Fr. deu "due, owed; proper, just," from V.L. *debutus, from L. debitus, p.p. of debere "to owe."

Harg, from Mid.Pers. harg, halg "duty, tribute; work, effort;" akin to Mod.Pers. gahulidan "to exchange, barter," → exchange; cf. Wakhi (y)ark "work, matter, business", Yaghnobi ark "work, matter, business," Yighda hor, Munji hôr(g) "work;" Proto-Ir. *harH- "to pay tribute; to barter, trade, exchange;" cognate with Gk. elein "to take (by force)," elor "loot, looty, catch;" E. to sell (Cheung 2006).

1) General: A person of abnormally small height owing to a pathological condition; an animal or plant much smaller than the average of its kind or species.
2) Astro.: An adjective characterizing a particular type of object, as in → dwarf star, → dwarf galaxy, → dwarf planet.
See also:
→ blue compact dwarf galaxy, → brown dwarf, → brown dwarfcooling, → brown dwarfdesert, → DA white dwarf, → DB white dwarf, → DC white dwarf, → DO white dwarf, → double white dwarf, → DQ white dwarf, → Draco Dwarf, → dwarf Cepheid, → dwarf elliptical galaxy, → dwarf irregular galaxy, → dwarf nova, → dwarf spheroidal galaxy, → dwarf spiral galaxy, → DZ white dwarf, → L dwarf, → M dwarf, → OB subdwarf, → red dwarf, → Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy, → Sagittarius Dwarf Irregular Galaxy, → Sculptor Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy, → subdwarf, → T dwarf, → tidal dwarf galaxy, → white dwarf, → white dwarf cooling track, → white dwarf crystallization, → Y dwarf.

Dwarf, from ME dwerg, dwerf, O.E. dweorg, dweorh, O.H.G. twerg "dwarf," from P.Gmc. *dweraz.

Kutulé, from kut "small, short" + Pers. diminutive suffix -ulé, → -ula. The first component kut is the base of kutâh "short, small, little," kudak "child, infant," Mid.Pers. kôtâh "low," kôtak "small, young; baby;" the Mid/Mod.Pers. kucak "small," belongs to this fammily; Av. kutaka- "little, small."

An old name for a class of pulsating variable stars with small variations in amplitude, also called an AI Velae star or delta Scuti star. They lie in the lower part of the Cepheid instability strip.

→ dwarf; → Cepheid.

A galaxy that is much smaller than other members of the elliptical class; it is designated as dE. A subtype of dwarf ellipticals is called a → dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph). The basic characteristics of the class are low surface brightness and smooth light distribution. They range in luminosity from that of the faintest dSph galaies M_V ~ -9 to about -17. In the → Local Group there are 19 known dEs. They are very common in → galaxy clusters.

→ dwarf; → elliptical; → galaxy.

A small, low luminosity galaxy that is associated with a larger spiral galaxy and may make up part of a galactic halo. There are many of them in the Local Group, and often orbit around larger galaxies such as the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy. There are three main types of them: → dwarf elliptical galaxy (dE), → dwarf irregular galaxy (dI), and → dwarf spiral galaxy (dSA).

→ dwarf; → galaxy.

An irregular galaxy that is much smaller than other irregulars. Dwarf irregulars are generally metal poor and have relatively high fractions of gas. They are thought to be similar to the earliest galaxies that populated the Universe, and are therefore important to understand the overall evolution of galaxies.

→ dwarf; → irregular; → galaxy.

A class of → novae and → cataclysmic variables that have multiple observed → eruptions. Their prototype is → U Geminorum star. Optically, dwarf nova eruptions have amplitudes of 2-6 mag in V, a duration of a few to 20 days and a recurrence time-scale of weeks to years. Dwarf novae are thought to be → semidetached binary stars consisting of a → white dwarf  → primary accreting via → Roche lobe overflow from a → companion which is usually a → late-type, generally → main-sequence star. DN outbursts are usually attributed to the release of gravitational energy resulting from an → instability in the → accretion disk or by sudden mass transfers through the disk.

→ dwarf; → nova.

A new category of → astronomical objects in the → solar system introduced in a resolution by the 26th General Assembly of the → International Astronomical Union (IAU) on August 24, 2006. The characterizing properties are as follows: 1) It is in orbit around the Sun; 2) It has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a → hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape; 3) It has not "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit; and 4) It is not a → satellite of a → planet, or other non-stellar body. The property 3 reclassified → Pluto from a planet to a dwarf planet because it has not cleared the neighborhood of its orbit (the → Kuiper Belt). The largest known dwarf planets are: → Eris, → Pluto, → Ceres, → Makemake, and → 2015 RR245.

→ dwarf; → planet.

A subtype of dwarf ellipticals (→ dwarf elliptical galaxy), which are companion to the Milky Way and other similar galaxies. The first example of such objects was discovered by Harlow Shapley (1938) in the constellation → Sculptor. Nine such galaxies are known currently to orbit the Milky Way. Nearby galaxy clusters such as the Virgo, Fornax, Centaurus, and Coma clusters contain hundreds to thousands of individual dSph galaxies. These galaxies have very low surface brightnesses, as low as only 1% that of the night sky (faintest M_V ~ -9). They are also among the smallest, least luminous galaxies known. Most of the radiation from dSph galaxies is emitted by stars in the optical portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The lack of strong emission lines, infrared, or radio radiation suggests that these galaxies are generally devoid of an → interstellar medium. The velocities of stars within dSph galaxies are so high that these galaxies must be disrupting. However, the bulk of mass in these galaxies might be undetected. Dynamical models that include → dark matter do adequately explain the → velocity dispersion of the stars in all dSph systems. In the most extreme cases, only 1% of the mass of the galaxy is visible. Many of the → Local Group dSph galaxies show evidence for star formation more recent than 10 Gyr.

→ dwarf; → spheroidal; → galaxy.

A galaxy that belongs to the spiral class but is significantly smaller.

→ dwarf; → spiral; → galaxy.

A star that burns its hydrogen content to produce its energy and therefore belongs to the main-sequence luminosity class.

→ dwarf; → star.

1) Involving or relating to force related to motion.
2) Pertaining to the science of → dynamics.

From Fr. dynamique, from Ger. dynamisch, introduced by Leibnitz in 1691, from Gk. dynamikos "powerful," from dynamis "power," from dynasthai "be able to have power" + → -ic.

Tavânik, from tavân "power, strength," tavânestan "to be powerful, able," + Pers. suffix -ik; → -ics. The first component from Mid.Pers. tuwan "power, might," from O.Pers./Av. base tav- "to have power, to be strong, to be able," Av. tavah- "power," təviši- "strength," Mod.Pers. tuš, tâb "power, ability," O.Pers. tauman- "power, strength," tunuvant- "powerful," Skt. tu- "to be strong, to have authority," tavas-, tavisa- "strong, energetic," tavisi- "power, strength" + -ik→ -ic.