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

A spectral line whose wavelength does not coincide with its theoretical value and is shifted toward longer wavelengths.

→ red; → shift; → line.

1) To bring to a certain state, condition, arrangement, etc.
Math.: To change the denomination or form, but not the value, of (a fraction, polynomial, etc.).
Chem.: To add an electron to.
2) To bring down to a smaller extent, size, amount, number, etc.; synonymous with → decrease.

M.E. reducen "to lead back," from O.Fr. reducer, from L. reducere, from → re- "back" + ducere "to bring, to lead."

From bâz-, → re- + Mid.Pers. hâxtan, hâzidan "to lead, guide, persuade," Av. hak-, hacaiti "to attach oneself to, to join," cf. Skt. sacate "accompanies, follows," Gk. hepesthai "to follow," L. sequi "to follow;" PIE *sekw- "to follow."
Kâstan, → decrease.

The "effective" → inertial mass appearing in the → two-body problem of → Newtonian mechanics. The reduced mass is a quantity which allows the two-body problem to be solved as if it were a one-body problem. For the masses m₁ and m₂, it is given by the ratio μ = m₁m₂ / (m₁ + m₂). The value of μ is generally smaller than m₁ and m₂. The larger the difference between the two masses, the closer μ will be to the smaller mass. If the particles are of equal mass, μ is half the mass of either.

→ reduce; → mass.

The → Planck constant divided by 2π and denoted ħ, pronounced h-bar. Also called the → Dirac constant.

Reduced, p.p. of → reduce; → Planck's constant.

→ reduced Planck constant.

→ reduced Planck constant.

A substance which removes → oxygen from, or adds → hydrogen, to another substance. In the more general sense, one which loses electrons. Also called → reductant.

→ reduce; → -ing; → agent.

1) An atmospheric condition in which oxidation is prevented by removal of oxygen and other oxidating gasses or vapours. Usually nitrogen or hydrogen gas is used in order to produce specific effects, e.g. on ceramic wares being fired.
2) An atmosphere of a planet or moon which has a high hydrogen content, either in the form of free hydrogen or hydrogen-containing compounds, such as methane or ammonia. The early atmosphere of Earth is thought to be reducing, dominated by carbon dioxide.

Reducing verbal adj. of → reduce; → atmosphere.

Same as → reducing agent.

Agent noun from → reduce.

Logic, Math.: A method of → reasoning in which one assumes some statement to be → true and from that → assumption proceeds to deduce a logical → absurdity and hence to a conclusion that the original assumption must have been → false.

L. reductio ad absurdum "reduction to absurdity," → reduction; → absurd.

1) In → data processing, the transformation of data from a "raw" form to some usable form.
2) Chem.: The removal of → oxygen from a substance, or the addition of → hydrogen to it. The term is also used more generally to include any reaction in which an atom gains → electrons.

Verbal noun of → reduce.

The fact of repeating or duplicity.
That part of the data content that can be dropped without any significant loss of the original information.

From L. redundantia "an overflowing, excess," from redundare "to flow back, overflow, be excessive," from → re- "again" + undare "rise in waves," from unda "a wave."

Afzun-âyi "redundancy, superabounding," from afzun "more, greater; more ample," from afzudan "to add, increase" (Mid.Pers. abzudan "to increase, grow;" O.Pers. abijav- "to increase, add to, promote," from abi-, aiby- "in addition to; to; against" + root jav- "press forward;" Av. gav- "to hasten, drive;" Sk. jav- "to press forward, impel quickly, excite," javate "hastens") + âyi verbal noun of ây- present stem of âmadan "to come, arrive, become" (Av. ay- "to go, to come," aēiti "goes;" O.Pers. aitiy "goes;" Skt. e- "to come near," eti "arrival;" L. ire "to go;" Goth. iddja "went," Lith. eiti "to go;" Rus. idti "to go").

A redshift caused by the → relativistic Doppler effect. → gravitational redshift.

→ relativistic; → redshift.

An image that has been upgraded by a process of → image restoration.

Restored, p;p. of restore, → restoration; → image.

Tasvir, → image; bâzsâxté, p.p. of bâzsâxtan, → restoration.

An old galaxy with faint emission lines whose ratios are similar to those of → LINERs, i.e. galaxies with low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions. All galaxies after consuming their → molecular clouds, where stars are formed, follow a "passive" evolution during which their → stellar populations simply get older and older. The old stellar populations contain hot post-→ AGB stars and → white dwarfs which are able to ionize the surrounding gas and produce spectra identical to those of LINERS.

Retired in the sense "withdrawn from or no longer occupied with one's business or profession," p.p. of retire, from M.Fr. retirer "to withdraw (something)," from → re- "back" + O.Fr. tirer "to draw;" → galaxy. The concept of retired galaxies was first proposed by G. Stasińska et al. (2008, MNRAS 391, L29) to name the final stages of galaxies that cease their star forming activity. The word "retired" is also to be taken by opposition to "active" in the sense of "containing an accreting black hole" (like Seyfert galaxies), since liners are often thought to be a scaled down version of Seyfert nuclei.

Bâznešasté "retired," literally "seated back, seated away," from bâz-→ re- + nešasté "seated," p.p. of 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, in, 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.

A → neutron star that is spinning down as a result of → torques from → magnetic dipole radiation and particle emission. RPPs derive their energy primarily from the → rotation of the neutron star. The energy from their → spin-down appears as broad-band pulsations from → radio to → gamma-ray wavelengths and as a → wind of energetic particles flowing into their surrounding → pulsar wind nebulae. Since the discovery of RPPs through their radio → pulsations in 1967, more than 2000 → radio pulsars are now known with periods ranging from a few milliseconds to several seconds (A. K. Harding, 2013, Front. Phys. 8, 679).

→ rotation; → power; → pulsar.

1) Occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space.
2) The quality of a particle that has undergone → scattering.

Past participle of → scatter.

A → dredge-up process that occurs after core helium burning, in which the convective envelope penetrates much more deeply, pushing hydrogen burning shell into close proximity with the helium burning shell (→ first dredge-up). This arrangement is unstable and leads to burning pulses. The reason is that the hydrogen shell burns out until there is enough helium for the helium combustion to occur and all the helium is rapidly burnt. Afterward the hydrogen shell again burns outward and the process repeats.

→ second; → dredge-up.

A large area of the south polar region of → Mars which is covered with layers of → water ice and → dust. The SPLD, like the NPLD, has a maximum relief relative to the surrounding terrain of ~ 3.5 km and ~ 1,000 km across. Above the SPLD lies a very thin temporary (1-10 m) cap of → carbon dioxide ice/frost that snows out in the winter and sublimates over the spring and summer seasons. It is believed that the rhythmic nature of the deposits is related to oscillations in Mars' → orbital parameters (J. J. Plaut et al., 2007, Science 316, 92).

→ south; → polar; → layer; → deposit.

A partnership of NASA and the German Aerospace Center, consisting of an extensively modified Boeing 747SP aircraft carrying a reflecting telescope with an effective diameter of 2.5 m. NASA Ames Research Center manages SOFIA's science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association and the German SOFIA Institute. SOFIA is the largest airborne observatory in the world, with a planned 20-year lifetime.

→ stratospheric; → observatory; → infrared; → astronomy.

A → dredge-up process that occurs in the stellar interior during He shell burning, as in → asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. These stars consist of a degenerate carbon-oxygen core, surrounded by a helium-rich region, above which lies a hydrogen-rich convective envelope. Following thermal pulses of the helium-burning shell, the convective envelope moves inward in mass, penetrating the hydrogen-exhausted regions. This is known as third dredge-up. As convection moves inward, nuclear processed materials are carried to the surface.

→ third; → dredge-up.