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

The female of bovine animals.

M.E. cou, cognate with Pers. Gâv, as below.

Mid.Pers. "bull, cow;" Av. gao-, gāvuš; cf. Skt. go-, gáus; Gk. bous ";" L. bos "ox, bull, cow;" O.E. cu "cow;" Ger. Kuh "cow;" PIE *g^wows "cow."

A model of the internal structure of → massive stars in which a → convective core is surrounded by a large → radiative envelope. However, recent studies point to the presence of a thin → convection zone in the outer envelope of hot massive stars, beneath the → photosphere, which is caused by opacity peaks associated with iron and helium ionization. See also → iron convection zone.

After Thomas Cowling (1906-1990), a British astronomer, who put forward the model; → model.