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

A kind of → adsorption in which the forces involved are → valence forces of the same kind as those operating in the formation of → chemical compounds. Same as → chemical adsorption. See also → physisorption.

Chemi-, from → chemical; → sorption.

Visible radiation emitted when → charged particles pass through a transparent medium faster than the speed of light in that medium.

Named after Pavel A. Čerenkov (1904-1990), Russian physicist, who discovered the phenomenon. He shared the Nobel prize 1958 in physics with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm, who in 1937 gave the theoretical explanation for this radiation.

A probability density function, denoted χ², that gives the distribution of the sum of squares of k independent random variables, each being drawn from the normal distribution with zero mean and unit variance. The integer k is the number of degrees of freedom. The distribution has a positive skew; the skew is less with more degrees of freedom. As degrees of freedom increase, the chi-square distribution approaches a normal distribution. The most common application is chi-square tests for goodness of fit of an observed distribution to a theoretical one. If χ² = 0 the agreement is perfect.

Chi Gk. letter of alphabet; → square; → distribution.

Vâbâžeš, → distribution; do, → two.

An object, discovered in 1977, which was initially assumed to be an asteroid, but subsequent observations showed it to be a weak comet with a detectable coma. Its orbit, lying now between those of Saturn and Uranus, is unstable on time scales of a million years.

In Gk. mythology, Xειρων (Cheiron or Chiron) was the wisest of the Centaurs; he was not a drunkard like other Centaurs. Chiron was tutor to Jason and Heracles. He was the only immortal centaur.

The most common type of → meteorites containing → chondrules. These → stony meteorites make up about 86% of all meteorites. An important feature of the chondrites is that, with the exception of a few highly → volatile elements, they have the same composition as the Sun.

Chondrite, from chondr-, from chondros "grain", + suffix → -ite.

Millimeter-sized grains of → silicate sometimes found in large numbers in → chondrite meteorites. They are essentially glassy beads made by a violent but brief heating event that caused dust grains to form melt droplets. However, the cause of the heating remains unknown.

From Gk. chondr-, from chondros "grain," + diminutive suffix → -ule.

A defect in a lens that causes it to concentrate the various colors in a beam of light at various point, thus producing color fringes.

→ chromatic; → aberration.

A very accurate instrument that measures, indicates, or graphically records time intervals such as the duration of an event.

Chronograph, from Gk. khronos "time" + → -graph.

Gâhnegâr, from gâh "time" + negâr, → -graph.

The science of dating, of ordering time, of arranging in periods, and of determining temporal distances between past events.

Chronology, from Gk. khronos "time" + → -logy.

Gâhšenâsi, from gâh "time" + -šenâsi, → -logy. Gâhrâik, from gâh + rây, ârâ "order, arrangement" stem of ârâstan "to arrange, to set in order, adorn" (Mid.Pers. ârây-, ârâstan "to arrange, adorn," O.Pers. râs- "to be right, straight, true," râsta- "straight, true" (Mod.Pers. râst "straight, true"), râd- "to prepare," Av. râz- "to direct, put in line, set," Av. razan- "order," Gk. oregein "to stretch out," L. regere "to lead straight, guide, rule," p.p. rectus "right, straight," Skt. rji- "to make straight or right, arrange, decorate," PIE base *reg- "move in a straight line") + -ik, → -ics.

A highly precise timepiece.

Chronometer, from from Gk. khronos "time" + → -meter.

Gâhsanj, zamânsanj, from gâh or zamân "time" + -sanj→ -meter.

A group of very rare → carbonaceous chondrites which are unusual because they do not have → chondrules. They are thought to be the most primitive of all meteorites. As a result of alteration, they lack chondrules and → CAIs, but contain up to 20% water, as well as various alteration minerals. Only five CI chondrite falls are known, and of these, only four are massive enough for multiple chemical analyses. The Orgueil meteorite is the most massive of CI chondrites.

C for → carbon, I stands for Ivuna meteorite that fell in Tanzania in 1938; → chondrite.

1) A great circle of the celestial sphere, from the pole to the ecliptic at right angles to the plane of the ecliptic.
2) A great circle on the terrestrial surface that meets the North and South poles and connects all places of the same longitude.

→ circle; → longitude.

Motion in which an object moves in a circle at a constant speed. The velocity, however, changes not because the magnitude of the velocity changes, but because its direction changes. The changing velocity creates an acceleration, called → centripetal acceleration. This acceleration results from the → centripetal force.

→ circular; → motion.

The → polarization of an → electromagnetic radiation in which the electric field vector describes a circle about the direction of propagation at any point in the path of the radiation. Circular polarization is a combination of two perpendicular → linearly polarized waves that are 90 degrees out of phase with each other. Circular polarization may be referred to as "right-hand" or "left-hand," depending on the rotation direction as viewed by the observer.

→ circular; → polarization.

The continuous movement of something from place to place or in an enclosed space. → meridional circulation.

M.E. circulacioun, from M.Fr. circulation or directly from L. circulationem, from circulare "to form a circle," from circulus "small ring," → circle.

Parhuneš, verbal noun from parhunidan, from parhun, → circle.

Circumspect observation or action; caution; prudence.

→ circumspect.

The circumstances or physical conditions related to the immediate surroundings of a star.

→ circumstellar; → environment.

A zone around a star within which a planet can have temperatures that permit liquid water, depending on the luminosity of the star and the distance of the planet from it.

→ circumstellar; → habitable zone.

1) An advanced state of human society, in which a high level of culture, knowledge, production, and legal organization has been reached. The people or nations that have reached such a state.
2) The act or process of civilizing or being civilized.

verbal noun of → civilize.

An equation that relates the temperature and pressure dependence of phases in equilibrium with the heat interaction and volume change associated with a phase change: dP/dT = L/T ΔV, where dP/dT is the slope of the coexistence curve, L is the → latent heat, T is the temperature, and ΔV is the volume change of the phase transition.

Named after Émile Clapeyron (1799-1864), a French engineer and physicist, one of the founders of → thermodynamics; → equation.