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

A graph on which the latitudes of → sunspots are plotted against time. It shows how sunspots migrate from high latitudes (30°- 40° north or south) to the solar equator (latitude of about 5°) during each → solar cycle, according to → Sporer's law. The shape of these distributions, when represented for both hemispheres, resembles the wings of a butterfly. The diagram was first created by Edward W. Maunder in 1904 to illustrate the solar cycle (M.S.: SDE).

Butterfly, from M.E. butterflye, from O.E. butorfleoge, from butor, butere "butter" floge "fly," but the etymology is not clear; → diagram.

Nemudâr, → diagram; parvânevâr "resembling a butterfly," from parvâné "butterfly" + -vâr similarity suffix.

To move through the air using wings. Travel through the air or outer space.

M.E. flien, O.E. fleogan; cognate with O.H.G. fliogan, Ger. fliegen, O.Norse fljuga.

Infinitive from parvâz, → flight.

A trajectory that takes a → space probe close to a Solar System body (planet, satellite, asteroid, comet) but does not permit it to enter an orbit about the body.

→ fly + by, from M.E., from O.E. be or bi, from P.Gmc. *bi "around, about" (cf. Du. bij, Ger. bei "by, at, near"), from *umbi, (cf. L. ambi "around, about," Gk. amphi "around, about," Skt. abhi "on both sides," Av. aibi, aiwi, O.Pers. aiby "to, against, in addition to," Mid.Pers. aw-, ab-, Mod.Pers. af- (as in afzudan "to increase, add," afruxtan "to inflame, kindle, blaze," afqân "lamentation, groaning, cires for help").

Barvâz, from bar- "on, up; upon, over," → on-, + vâz, as in parvâz, → flight.

Same as → 61 Cygni and → Bessel's star.

Giuseppe Piazzi (1746-1826) was the first to notice the large → proper motion of the star, in 1804. His observations over a period of 10 years revealed the largest proper motion ever detected for any star at the time, leading him to baptize it the "Flying Star;" → fly; → star.

Any flying object or phenomenon that cannot be identified by the observer.

→ unidentified; fly; M.E. flien; O.E. fleogan (cf. O.H.G. fliogan, O.N. flügja, M.Du. vlieghen, Ger. fliegen); → object.