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

Same as → bijection.

→ bijective; → mapping.

A chart showing a central concept with suggested relationships with other concepts, which are subtopics of the central concept. The map is ordered into a tree structure with multiple branches.

→ concept; → map.

A continuous mapping u = f(x) of a domain D in an n-dimensional Euclidean space (n≥ 2) into the n-dimensional Euclidean space is called conformal at a point x₀∈ D if it has the properties of constancy of dilation and preservation of angles at this point.

→ conformal; → mapping.

A map showing the flux intensity variations over an extended object made up of → contour lines.

→ contour; → map.

A method for imaging the continuum light distributions of the → accretion disks of → cataclysmic variable stars. It relies on geometrical information contained in eclipse light curves. An alternative method is → Doppler tomography.

→ eclipse; → mapping.

Biology: An individual, animal, or plant possessing both male and female reproductive organs.

From L. hermaphroditus, from Gk. hermaphroditos the mythical son of Hermes and Aphrodite who merged bodies with a naiad and thereafter possessed both male and female qualities.

Narmâde, literally "male-female," → male, → female.

Biology: For an animal or plant, the condition of having both male and female reproductive tissue or organs.

→ hermaphrodite; → -ism.

1a) A representation usually on a flat surface of an area of the Earth or a portion of the sky, showing them in their respective forms, sizes, and relationships.
1b) Math.: Same as → mapping.
2) To make a map of; show or establish the features of, details of.

Shortening of M.E. mapemounde "map of the world," from M.L. mappa mundi "map of the world," first element from L. mappa "napkin, cloth" (said to be of Punic origin) + L. mundi "of the world," from mundus "universe, world."

Naqšé "map," from naqš "painting, embroidering, carving," variant of negâštan, negâridan "to paint," negâr "picture, figure," → graph.

The theory and method of transforming the features, geometry, and topology on a sphere surface (in particular the spherical Earth) onto a plane.

→ map; → projection.

Any tree of the genus Acer. The maple leaf is an emblem of Canada.

M.E. mapel, O.E. mapul-, related to O.N. möpurr, O.S. mapulder, M.L.G. mapeldorn.

Afrâ, of Tabari origin.

1) The process of producing a map.
2) Math.: The operation of establishing → relations between two → sets in which one element of the second set is assigned to each element of the first set, as the expression y = x². Same as → function.

Verbal noun from → map + → -ing.

1) Naqšé bardâri;, → map.
2) Hamtâyeš, verbal noun of hamtâyidan literally "folding together, relating units together," from ham- "together," → com-, + tâ "fold, plait, ply; piece, part; single, a single unit of a pair," also a multiplicative suffix; Mid.Pers. tâg "piece, part," + infinitive suffix -idan.

The sharp outer boundary of the plasmasphere, at which the plasma density decreases by a factor of 100 or more.

→ plasma + pause "break, cessation, stop," from M.Fr. pause, from L. pausa "a halt, stop, cessation," from Gk. pausis "stopping, ceasing," from pauein "to stop, to cause to cease."

→ plasma + marz "frontier, border, boundary," from Mid.Pers. marz "boundary;" Av. marəza- "border, district," marəz- "to rub, wipe;" Mod.Pers. parmâs "contact, touching" (→ contact), mâl-, mâlidan "to rub;" PIE base *merg- "boundary, border;" cf. L. margo "edge" (Fr. marge "margin"); P.Gmc. *marko; Ger. Mark; E. mark, margin.

Same as → surjection.

→ surjective; → mapping.

1) Sun: A map that displays positions of certain events (e.g., → sunspots, → faculae, → filaments, etc.) observed during one solar rotation.
2) Meteorology: The use of data obtained simultaneously over a wide area for the purpose of presenting a comprehensive and nearly instantaneous picture of the state of the atmosphere.

→ synoptic; → map.

A space telescope launched by NASA in 2001 which measures the temperature fluctuations in the → cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. It creates a full-sky map of the CMB, with a 13 arcminute resolution via multi-frequency observations. WMAP is the first mission to use a → Lagrangian point L2 as its permanent observing station at a distance of 1.5 million km. WMAP completed its prime two years of mission operations in September 2003 and is continuing in 2009 its observations for still several years to come. WMAP's measurements have played a considerable role in establishing the current standard model of cosmology. They are consistent with a Universe that is dominated by → dark energy, with negative pressure or a → cosmological constant. In this model, the age of the Universe is 13.73 ± 0.12 billion years. The current expansion rate of the Universe measured by the Hubble constant, is 70.5 ± 1.3 km·s^-1 Mpc^-1. The content of the Universe consists of 4.56% ± 0.15% ordinary → baryonic matter, 22.8% ± 1.3% → cold dark matter, and 72.6% ± 1.5% of → dark energy, that accelerates the → expansion of the Universe.

WMAP, short for Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, in honor of David Todd Wilkinson (1935-2002), who had been a member of the mission's science team.