An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The process whereby the amount of → water vapor in the air exceeds that needed to → saturate. In other words, the condition of air in which the → humidity is above the level required for saturation at a given temperature (i.e. the → relative humidity is greater than 100%). When the temperature drops below freezing, this can lead to a situation where more water vapor is present in the air than the air can hold. At every temperature, there is a maximum amount of water vapor that can be supported in the air. The higher the temperature, the more water vapor can be accommodated. But if the air that is already at 100% relative humidity is cooled then it becomes supersaturated, and this situation is unstable. As a result, the excess water vapor crystallizes out, either into water droplets or directly into ice.

→ super-; → saturation.

An → index (a digit or symbol) written slightly above and to the right of a letter, such as for representing variable components in → tensor analysis. → subscript. The most common mathematical superscript is an → exponent. Other common superscripts are the single and double prime marks indicating the → first derivative and → second derivative of a → function. See also → contravariant tensor.

→ super- + script, → subscript.

Zabarneveš, from zabar- "above," → superior + nevešt "written," → subscript.

Describing a speed that is greater than the → sound speed in the medium concerned. See also → Mach number, → subsonic.

→ super-; → sonic.

A class of theories that seek to unify the four fundamental forces of nature. It proposes symmetrical relationships linking fermions and bosons (particles of half integer spin, like electrons, protons, and neutrinos) with particles of integral spin (like photons and gluons).

→ super; → symmetry.

A galaxy that appears as an extraordinary thin and long figure on the sky because of its → edge-on orientation, highly flattened stellar → disk, and absence of a → bulge component. Superthin galaxies are → gas-rich and have optically diffuse disks with little internal absorption, as well as low emission-line intensity ratios and slowly rising → rotation curves. They seem to be among the least evolved disk galaxies in the local Universe, having undergone only minimal dynamical heating, → star formation, and → angular momentum transport. Examples are: UGC 7321, UGC 3697, UGC 9242.

→ super-; → thin; → galaxy.

A galactic-scale wind driven by the collective effect of a large number of → supernovae and → winds from → massive stars occurring in the central region of a galaxy. Superwinds have been invoked, among other things, as the source by which the → intergalactic medium is provided with → enriched gas (see, e.g. Heckman et al. 1990, ApJS 74, 833).

→ super-; → wind.

A galaxy with → superwind characteristics. M 82 and NGC 4666 are among superwind galaxy candidates.

→ superwind; → galaxy.

Same as → type Ia supernova

→ thermonuclear; → supernova.

A type of supernova whose spectra lacks hydrogen lines. Its → light curve exhibits a sharp maximum with a gradual decrease. Typical magnitudes M_V = -14 to -17. Ejecta velocities about 10,000 km/sec. Type I supernovae have several subtypes: → Type Ia, → Type Ib, and → Type Ic.

Type I initially introduced by R. Minkowski (1941, PASP 53, 224); → type; → supernova.

A → Type I supernova that presents a singly-ionized silicon (Si II) absorption feature at 6150 Å near peak brightness. Type Ia SNe are believed to result from mass → accretion to a carbon-oxygen → white dwarf in a → close binary system. When the white dwarf mass exceeds the → Chandrasekhar limit, the → degenerate electron pressure can no longer support the accumulated mass and the star collapses in a thermonuclear explosion producing a supernova. The → peak luminosity of SNe Ia is set by the radioactive decay chain ⁵⁶Ni → ⁵⁶Co → ⁵⁶Fe, and the observed photometric correlation between the peak luminosity and the time-scale over which the → light curve decays from its maximum is understood physically as having both the luminosity and → opacity being set by the mass of ⁵⁶Ni synthesized in the explosion. Type Ia supernovae occur in all types of galaxies. Type Ia SNe are used as → standard candles in determining cosmological distances, after normalizing their light curves with the → Phillips relation.

→ type; → supernova.

A → Type I supernova that has neutral helium line (He I) at 5876 Å, and no strong silicon (Si II) absorption feature at 6150 Å. Type Ib supernovae are believed to result from the evolution of → massive stars.

→ type; → supernova.

A → Type I supernova that shows weak or no helium lines and no strong silicon (Si II) absorption feature near 6150 Å. Type Ic supernovae are believed to result from the evolution of → massive stars.

→ type; → supernova.

A supernova type whose spectrum contains hydrogen lines. Compared with → Type I supernovae, its → light curve has a broader peak at maximum and dies away more rapidly. The magnitudes are smaller, ranging from M_V = -12 to -13.5, and the ejecta have lower velocities (about 5,000 km/sec). These supernovae, which result from the final evolution of → massive stars, have three main divisions: → Type II-P, → Type II-L, and → Type II-n.

Type II initially introduced by R. Minkowski (1941, PASP 53, 224); → type; → supernova.

A → Type II supernova which displays a linear decrease in its → light curve.

→ Type II supernova; L short for → linear.

A → Type II supernova which shows intermediate or very narrow width hydrogen → emission lines in the spectra.

→ Type II supernova; n short for → narrow.

A → Type II supernova which reaches a plateau in its → light curve. The vast majority of Type II SNe are characterized by a fast (few days) rise to a flat light curve, most pronounced in the reddest optical bands, with a duration of 80-100 days. This plateau phase is interpreted as the recession of the photosphere as the ejecta expand and cool. The spectra of SNe II-P are typically dominated by strong → P Cygni profiles of hydrogen lines, as well as iron absorption features (for a review, e.g., see Filippenko 1997, ARA&A 35, 309).

→ Type II supernova; P short for → plateau.

A → supernova remnant located in the southern Milky Way in the constellation → Vela. It has a large angular diameter of about 8° and lies 250 ± 30 pc away (Cha et al. 1999, ApJ 515, L25). Its overall emission is dominated by the interaction of the → supernova blast wave with the → interstellar medium. This SNR is also notable for a number of protrusions extending well beyond its rim, which were suggested to be fragments of ejecta from the supernova explosion. X-ray spectroscopy has since confirmed several of these protrusions to indeed be strongly enriched with ejecta. The age of the SNR is estimated to be ~11,000 years, based on the spin-down rate of the associated → Vela pulsar, but ages as large as 20,000-30,000 years have also been argued.

→ Vela; → supernova remnant.

The irregular supercluster that contains the Virgo cluster and the Local Group. At least 100 galaxy groups and clusters are located within its diameter of 110 million light-years. It is one of millions of superclusters in the observable Universe.

→ Virgo; → supercluster.

A supergiant star of type F and G whose effective temperature is between 4800 and 7500 K. Yellow supergiants are extremely rare, because they represent a very short-lived phase, typically a few tens of thousands of year, in the evolution of → massive stars.

→ yellow; → supergiant.