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

A dark lane that appears behind the coma in some comets. It is not the shadow of the true nucleus but sometimes may be a region of the near-tail that lies behind the densest part of the inner coma and therefore receives less sunlight.

→ shadow; → nucleus.

A gravitationally lensed image of a → black hole as seen by a distant observer if the black hole is in front of a bright background. According to → general relativity, photons circling the black hole slightly inside the boundary of the → photon sphere will fall down into the → event horizon, while photons circling just outside will escape to infinity. The shadow appears therefore as a rather sharp boundary between bright and dark regions and arises from a deficit of those photons that are captured by the event horizon. Because of this, the diameter of the shadow does not depend on the photons energy, but uniquely on the → angular momentum of the black hole. In a pioneering study, Bardeen (1973) calculated the shape of a dark area of a → Kerr black hole, that is, its "shadow" over a bright background appearing, for instance, in the image of a bright star behind the black hole.

→ black; → hole; → shadow.

A model of → accretion disk around a → pre-main sequence star or a → protostar in which the outer parts of the disk are geometrically flat, in contrast to a → flared disk. Inward of a certain radius (0.5-1 AU from the star) the dust in the disk evaporates. Because the dust is the main source of opacity and the gas in the disk is usually optically thin, the irradiation burns a hole in the disk. Moreover, the inner rim puffs up, similarly to the case of flared disks. The difference lies in the outer parts. The inner rim casts its shadow over the disk all the way out. Since the disk thickness is almost constant, no photons can reach the surface of the disk and the outer parts of the disk remain shadowed by the inner rim and the midplane temperatures decrease accordingly. This model explains the observed → spectral energy distribution of some pre-main sequence stars, such as HD 101412. It also accounts for the observed weak → far infrared→ excess, weak or no → PAH emission, and weak or no [O I] emission.

→ self-; → shadow; → disk.

Gerdé, → disk; xod-, → self-; pardé, → screen.

A dark patch formed by a body which obstructs rays of light.

M.E. sch(e)adew(e), schadow, shadw(e), O.E. sceadwe, sceaduwe, sceadu "shade, shadow, darkness;" cf. O.S. skado, M.Du. scade, Du. schaduw, O.H.G. scato, Ger. Schatten, Goth. skadus; from PIE base *skot- "dark, shade."

Sâyé "shadow," from Mid.Pers. sâyak "shadow;" Av. a-saya- "throwing no shadow;" Skt. chāya- "shadow;" Gk. skia "shade;" Rus. sijat' "to shine;" M.H.G. schinen, O.H.G. skinan, Ger. Schein "glow, shine;" PIE base *skai- "bright."

Faint wavy lines of alternating light and dark that sometimes can be seen on flat, light-colored surfaces just before and just after a total solar eclipse. The phenomenon results from sunlight distortion by irregularities in the Earth's atmosphere.

→ shadow; → band.

A cone-shaped shadow cast by Earth or the Moon pointing away from the Sun. The dark inner portion of the shadow cone is called the → umbra. The lighter outer portion of the shadow is called the → penumbra. Its extension is called the → antumbra.

→ shadow; → cone.