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

Of or relating to → morphology. Same as morphological

→ morphologic; → -al.

A classification scheme of galaxies based on their apparent shape. → Hubble classification.

→ morphological; → classification.

1) The study of the form or → structure of anything.
2) The → form and structure of a whole entity under study.
3) Linguistics: The structure of → words in a → language, including patterns of → inflections and → derivation. The study and description of such structures.

From Gk. morphe "form, shape, outward appearance" + → -logy.

Rixt "shape, the way something is cast, as in founding," past stem of rixtan "to cast; to pour; to flow" (Mid.Pers. rēxtan and rēcitan "to flow;" Av. raēk- "to leave, set free; to yield, transfer," infinitive *ricyā; Mod.Pers; rig in morderig "heritage" (literally, "left by the dead"); cf. Skt. rinakti "he leaves," riti- "stream; motion, course;" L. rivus "stream, brook;" Old Church Slavic rēka "river;" Rus. reka "river;" Goth. rinnan "run, flow," rinno "brook;" O.E. ridh "stream." šenâsi, → -logy.

An observationally determined relationship between the → morphological classification of galaxies and the → environments in which they are located. Specifically, the morphology-density relation indicates that early-type galaxies (→ ETG) are preferentially located in high density environments, whereas late-type galaxies (→ LTG) are preferentially found in low density environments. Hence, spiral galaxies are rare in the high densities of clusters and are common in the lower density group environments. Early-type galaxies, on the other hand, are common in clusters and are rarely found in isolation.

→ morphology; → density; → relation.

A composite image built up from a number of image segments.

From O.Fr. mosaicq "mosaic work," from M.L. musaicum "mosaic work, work of the Muses," from musaicus "of the Muses," from L. Musa.

The resonant and recoil-free emission and absorption of gamma rays by atoms bound in a solid form.

Named after Rudolf Mößbauer (1929-), a German physicist who studied gamma rays from nuclear transitions, and discovered this phenomenon in 1957; → effect.

A small telescope dedicated entirely to → asterolseismology. MOST is the first space telescope entirely designed and constructed by Canada. It was launched into space in 2003. The satellite weighs only 54 kg and is equipped with an ultra high precision telescope that measures only 15 centimetres in diameter. Despite its tiny size, it is ten times more sensitive than the → Hubble Space Telescope in detecting the minuscule variations in a star's luminosity caused by vibrations that shake its surface. MOST completes one orbit around the Earth every 101 minutes by passing over each of Earth's poles.

MOST, short for Microvariability and Oscillations of STars telescope.

A female → parent.

M.E. mother, moder, O.E. modor; cf. O.S. modar, O.N. moðir, Da. moder, Du. moeder, O.H.G. muoter, Ger. Mutter; PIE *mater- "mother;" akin to Pers. mâdar, as below.

Mâdar, from Mid.Pers. mâd, mâdar; O.Pers./Av. mātar- "mother;" cf. Ossetic mad/madae "mother;" Khotanese mâta "mother;" Skt. mātár- "mother;" Gk. meter, mater; L. mater (Fr. mère, Sp. madre).

The action or process of moving or of changing place or position; movement.

Verbal noun of → move.

A device that imparts motion through reaction.

From L. motor "mover," from movere "to move."

Motor, loanword from Fr. moteur, as above.

A general term for a relatively bright or dark feature seen in monochromatic images taken in the red Hα → Balmer line of the solar → chromosphere. Mottles constitute the fine structure of the quiet solar chromosphere and are found near bright points at → supergranulation boundaries.

Probably back formation from motley, from M.E., O.E. mot "speck," of unknown origin; maybe related to Du. mot "sawdust, grit;" Norw. mutt "speck."

Capârak noun from capâr "spotted, speckled, mottled" + -ak diminutive/similarity suffix.

An observatory situated on a mountain 1700 m above sea level near Pasadena, California. It was built in 1904 by American astronomer George Ellery Hale as a solar-observing station for the Yerkes Observatory, but it became an independent observatory funded by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. In 1908 a 60-inch (152-cm) reflector, then the largest in the world, was added for observations of stars and galaxies. Ten years later a 100-inch (254-cm) reflecting telescope was put into service. It was the most powerful telescope in the world until the construction of the Palomar 200-inch reflector in 1948. The 100-inch telescope's most important discovery was Edwin Hubble's determination of the distance to the Andromeda Nebula in 1924. He showed that the nebula lay beyond the bounds of the Milky Way Galaxy and hence was a galaxy in its own right. Then in 1929, following the work of Vesto Slipher, Hubble and his assistant Milton Humason demonstrated that galaxies were moving away from one another. This movement is the expansion of the Universe.

→ mountain; a peak of the San Gabriel Mountains, located in northern Los Angeles County, California, named after Benjamin D. Wilson (1811-1878) a California statesman and politician; → observatory .

A natural elevation of the Earth's surface rising to a summit, and attaining an altitude greater than that of a hill.

From O.Fr. montaigne, from V.L. *montanea "mountain, mountain region," from L. montanus "mountainous," from mons (gen. montis) "mountain," minere "to project, jut, threaten," from PIE base *men- "to project;" cf. Av. matay-, mati- "protrusion of mountain range," framanyente "to be protruding, jutting;" from PIE base *men- "to stand out, to project;" (other related terms: mouth, prominent, amount, etc.).

Kuh "mountain," from Mid.Pers. kôf "mountain, hill; hump;" O.Pers. kaufa- "mountain;" Av. kaofa- "mountain."

Climate of relatively high elevations, specifically where optical observatories are situated.

→ mountain; → climate.

The support structure for a telescope that bears the weight of the telescope and allows it to be pointed at a target.

From verb mount, from O.Fr. monter "to go up, climb, mount," from V.L. *montare, from L. mons (genitive montis) → mountain

Barnešând, noun of Barnešândan "to set, to fix, make sit," from bar- "on, upon, up" (Mid.Pers. abar; O.Pers. upariy "above; over, upon, according to;" Av. upairi "above, over," upairi.zəma- "located above the earth;" cf. Gk. hyper- "over, above;" L. super-; O.H.G. ubir "over;" PIE base *uper "over") + nešândan "to place one thing upon another, to fix, insert," from nešastan "to sit;" Mid.Pers. nišastan "to sit;" O.Pers. nišādayam [1 sg.impf.caus.act.] "to sit down, to establish," hadiš- "abode;" Av. nišasiiā [1 sg.subj.acr.] "I shall sit down," from nihad- "to sit down," from ni- "down, below, into," → ni-, + had- "to sit;" PIE base *sed- "to sit;" cf. Skt. sad- "to sit," sidati "sits;" Gk. hezomai "to sit," hedra "seat, chair;" L. sedere "to sit;" O.Ir. suide "seat, sitting;" Welsh sedd "seat;" Lith. sedmi "to sit;" Rus. sad "garden;" Goth. sitan, Ger. sitzen; E. sit.

1) Any of numerous small Old World rodents of the family Muridae, especially of the genus Mus, introduced widely in other parts of the world.
2) Computers: A palm-sized, button-operated pointing device that can be used to move, select, activate, and change items on a computer screen (Dictionary.com).

M.E. mous (plural mis), from O.E. mus "small rodent;" cf. O.N., O.Fr., M.Du., Dan., Sw. mus, Du. muis, Ger. Maus, Pers. muš, as below.

Muš "mouse," dialectal Lori, Laki miš; Mid.Pers. mušk; cf. Skt. muš-, muš-; Gk. mys; L. mus; O.E. mys; Ger. Maus.

1) The body opening through which an animal takes in food.
2) This cavity regarded as the source of sounds and speech (TheFreeDictionary.com).

M.E., from O.E. muth "mouth, opening, door, gate;" cf. O.Sax., O.Norse munnr, Dan. mund, Du. mond, Ger. Mund.

Dahân "mouth," variant zafar "mouth;" Mid.Pers. dahân "mouth;" from *dafân the south-west form of Av. zafan, zafar "mouth;" cf. Skt. jambha- "set of teeth, mouth, jaws;" Ger. Kiefer "jaw."

Capable of being moved; not fixed in one place, position, or posture (Dictionary.com).

→ move; → -able.

1) To go from one place or position to another.
2) To change the position or location of something.

M.E. meven, moven; O.Fr. moveir; L. movere "move, set in motion;" Av. miuu- "to shove," as below.

Jonbidan "to move;" Lori, Laki jem "motion," Kurd. -žim- "to move, stir," žimây-/žimn- "to rock a cradle," Sogd. âyamb "to pervert, seduce, deceive," yâb "to wander, travel, rove;" Mid.Pers. jumbidan, jumb- "to move;" cf. Tocharian yâw-, yâp- "to enter;" Luwian /iba-/ "west;" PIE base *ieb^(h)- "to go, move inside" (Cheung 2007).
Miyâvidan, ultimately from Proto-Ir. *miHu- "to move;" cf. Av. auua.miuu- "to remove;" Khotanese mvīr- "to move;" Mid.Pers. pr-mws- "to be terrified;" Skt. mīv-/mu- "to move, remove, push;" L. movere, as above; PIE root *mieuH- "to set into motion" (Cheung 2007).

The act, process, or result of moving. A particular manner or style of moving.

→ move; → -ment.