An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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One of several peaks appearing in the → CMB angular power spectrum of the → cosmic microwave background radiation which are ripples left by acoustic oscillations of the plasma-radiation fluid in the early Universe (→ baryon acoustic oscillations). When the Universe was small and very hot, the free electron density was so high that photons could not propagate freely without being scattered by electrons. Ionized matter, electrons and radiation formed a single fluid, with the inertia provided by the baryons and the radiation pressure given by the photons.

→ acoustic; → peak.

1) Come into sight; become visible or noticeable.
2) To have the appearance of being; seem.

From M.E. apperen, aperen, from O.Fr. aparoir, aperer, from L. apparere, from → ad- + prarere "to come forth, become visible."

Padidâr šodan, literally "become apparent," from padidâr, → apparent, + šodan, → become.

A → galaxy bulge that shows a boxy or peanut-like morphology. These bulges are usually featureless and show no signs of → dust obscuration, young → stellar populations, or → star-forming regions. They are also kinematically cold and usually referred to as → pseudo-bulges. A number of studies have shown that these structures are just the inner parts of → bars that grow vertically thick due to vertical → resonances. They have basically the same dynamics and stellar content as bars, just their geometry is somewhat different. Box/peanut bulges are not seen if the galaxy is not inclined enough. In a → face-on galaxy, if it has a box/peanut, it will be seen as part of the bar. The → Milky Way shows a box/peanut bulge. Another remarkable case is that of → M31, known to have a bar, with its box/peanut inner part (Combes & Sanders 1981, A&A 96, 164; Combes et al. 1990, A&A 233, 82; Kormendy & Kennicutt, 2004, ARA&A 42, 603).

→ box; → peanut; → bulge.

The uplift of the central parts of the → crater floor due to the impacting force of a large → meteorite. The shock wave entering the Earth will first move in as a compressional wave (P-wave), but after passage of the compressional wave an expansion wave (rarefaction wave) will move back toward the surface. This will cause the floor of the crater to be uplifted and may also cause the rock around the rim of the crater to bent upward.

→ central; → peak.

A crucial period in the history of the → Universe, when the bulk of stars in massive galaxies were likely formed. Observations of young stars in distant galaxies at different times in the past have indicated that the → star formation rate peaked at the → redshift of z ~ 2, some 10 billion years ago, before declining by a factor of around ten to its present value (P. Madau & Dickinson, 2014, arXiv:1403.0007).

→ cosmic; → star; → formation; → peak.

Of or relating to Europe or its inhabitants.

→ Europe.

An major intergovernmental research organisation in astronomy supported by 14 European countries. ESO was founded in 1962 as a consortium among Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The ESO Headquarters are located in Garching near Munich, Germany. The organization operates three outstanding observing sites in the Atacama Desert region of Chile: → La Silla, → Paranal, and Chajnantor. The → Very Large Telescope (VLT), the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical facility, is located on the 2600 m high mountain of Paranal, which also hosts the → VLT Interferometer (VLTI). The Chajnantor site, 5000 m above sea level, near San Pedro de Atacama, operates a submillimeter telescope (APEX). Moreover, a giant array of 12 m submillimeter antennas, called → ALMA, is being constructed in collaboration with North America, East Asia and Chile. ESO is currently planning a 42 m European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the → E-ELT.

→ European; → southern; → observatory.

An intergovernmental organisation dedicated to space research and technology as well as peaceful exploration of space, founded in 1975. It is headquartered in Paris and currently comprises 18 member states and one associated state (Canada). ESA has developed the Ariane series of space launch vehicles, and supports a launch facility in French Guiana. Moreover, ESA has four major research centers: The European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC), located in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, is the primary research center and manages the satellite projects. The European Space Operations Center (ESOC), situated in Darmstadt, Germany, is responsible for satellite control, monitoring, and data retrieval. The European Space Research Institute (ESRIN), located in Frascati, Italy, supports the ESA documentation service and manages the data obtained from remote sensing satellites. The European Astronaut Center (EAC), located in Cologne, Germany, is responsible for the selection and training of astronauts for space station missions. The European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), located in Villafranca del Castillo, Madrid, Spain, which holds scientific operations centres as well as archives. Some of the past ESA missions are the following ones. The Giotto space probe, which enabled examination of the core of → Halley's Comet in 1986. ESA also developed the Ulysses spacecraft (launched 1990) to explore the Sun's polar regions. Similarly, ESA established a system of meteorological satellites known as Meteosat. In 2003 ESA launched the Mars Express orbiter and its lander, Beagle 2. In 2009 ESA launched → Planck Satellite, that is designed to study the → cosmic microwave background, and the → Herschel Satellite, an infrared observatory that is the largest telescope in space.

→ European; → space; agency, from M.L. agentia, from L. ag-, root of agere, → act + -entia noun suffix.

Sâzmân, → organization; fazâyi adj. of fazâ, → space; Orupâ, → Europa.

In nuclear fusion, the product of the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution with the tunnelling probability of the nuclei through their Coulomb barrier. This is the energy region where the reaction is more likely to take place: at higher energies, the number of particles becomes insignificant while at lower energies the tunnelling through the Coulomb barrier makes the reaction improbable.

→ Gamow barrier; → peak.

A pea harvested and eaten while still green, soft, and unripe; a garden pea; usually in plural.

→ green; → pea.

A member of a class of galaxies of relatively small size (→ compact galaxy) having very strong → emission lines especially the → [O III] doublet and an unusually large → equivalent width of up to 1000 Å. They were first noted because of their peculiar bright green color and small size, unresolved in → Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging. Green Peas are similar to high-→ redshift  → Lyman alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) in many respects (small sizes, low → stellar masses, 10^8-10 → solar masses (Msun), low metallicities for their stellar masses, high → specific star formation rates (sSFR), and large [O III] λ5007/[O II]λ3727 ratios. Green Peas are relatively luminous and massive galaxies compared to the faint-end → dwarf starburst galaxies and LAEs (See Yang et al, 2017, arxiv/1706.02819, and references therein).

Such called because of their appearance and green color (mainly due to very strong optical emission line [O III] 5007 Å) in composite images; → green; → pea; → galaxy.

A bump appearing in the plot of stellar → opacity versus temperature. The ionization of the heaviest → chemical elements, especially → iron, which is the most abundant heavy metal, produces a large number of weak spectral → absorption lines. These lines dominate the stellar opacity in the temperature range 10⁵-10⁶ K and furnish two local opacity peaks: a large peak around 2 × 10⁵ K and a smaller one around 1.5 × 10⁶ K (Rogers & Iglesias, 1992, ApJS 79, 507; Iglesias et al. 1992, ApJ, 397, 717).

→ iron; → opacity; → peak.

A maximum on the element-abundance curve in the vicinity of the iron → atomic number 26. The relative higher abundance of the → iron peak elements results from their being the end products of → nucleosynthesis in the interiors of → massive stars.

→ iron; → peak.

A member of a group of elements with → atomic masses A about 40 to 60 that are synthesized by the → silicon burning process and appear in the → iron peak. They are mainly: → titanium (Ti), → chromium (Cr), → manganese (Mn), → iron (Fe), → cobalt (Co), and → nickel (Ni).

→ iron; → peak; → element.

A device in which electric signals are converted into audible sound.

→ loud; → speak; → -er.

The round edible seed of a widely cultivated plant, Pisum sativum, of the legume family.

False singular from M.E. pease (plural pesen), from O.E. pise (West Saxon), piose (Mercian) "pea," from L.L. pisa, variant of L. pisum "pea," from Gk. pison "the pea."

Noxod "pea," from Mid.Pers. naxôd, naxvat "pea."

1) The normal, non warring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world.
2) (often initial capital letter) An agreement or treaty between warring or antagonistic nations, groups, etc., to end hostilities and abstain from further fighting or antagonism.
3) A state of mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations.

From M.E. pes, pais, pees, from Anglo-Norman peis, pes, from O.Fr. pais "peace, reconciliation, silence," from L. pacem (nominative pax) "compact, agreement, treaty of peace, tranquility," ultimately from PIE root *pag- "to fasten."

Râman, related to râmeš "tranquility, rest," ârâm "quiet, peaceful," ârâmidan "to become calm, calmed, rest," Mid.Pers. râm "peace," râmenidan "to give peace, pleasure," râmišn "peace, pleasure;" Av. ram- "to stay, rest;" cf. Skt. ram- "to stop, stand still, rest, become appeased;" Gk. erema "quietly, gently;" Goth. rimis "rest;" Lith. rāmas "rest." + suufix -an.

The pointed top of a mountain or ridge. The pointed top of anything. → Gamow peak; → peak wavelength.

Perhaps from M.L.G. pék "pick, pike."

Setiq "summit, top," from *us-tig, from us-, → ex-, + tig "pointed," related to tiq "blade," tiz "sharp," tež, tej, tij; Mid.Pers. tigr, têz, têž "sharp," O.Pers. tigra- "pointed," tigra.xauda- "pointed helmet (epithet of Scythians)," Av. tiγra- "pointed," tiγray- "arrow," tiži.arštay- "with the pointed spear," cf. Skt. tikta- "sharp, pungent, bitter," tejas- "sharpness, edge, point or top of a flame;" PIE base *st(e)ig- "to stick; pointed." Cognates in other IE languages: Gk. stizein "to prick, puncture," stigma "mark made by a pointed instrument," L. in-stigare "to goad," O.H.G. stehhan, Ger. stechen "to stab, prick," Du. stecken, O.E. sticca "rod, twig, spoon," E. stick.

The → bolometric luminosity of a → supernova corresponding to the highest brightness in its → light curve. The peak luminosity occurs after the → supernova explosion; it is directly linked to the amount of radioactive ⁵⁶Ni produced in the explosion and can be used to test various explosion models. Following → Arnett's rule, one can derive the ⁵⁶Ni mass from the peak luminosity of a → Type Ia supernova.

→ peak; → luminosity.

The wavelength at which the radiant intensity of a source is maximum.

→ peak; → wavelength.