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

O.E. hype "hip," akin to Du. heup, O.H.G. huf, Ger. Hüfte, Swed. höft, Goth. hups "hip," of uncertain origin.

Šanj (Dehxodâ) "hip, buttock, thigh, haunch," of unknown origin.

A → European Space Agency satellite, which was launched in August 1989 and operated until March 1993. It was the first space mission devoted to → astrometry with an unprecedented degree of accuracy. The telescope on Hipparcos had a main mirror of diameter 29 cm. Calculations from observations by the main instrument generated the Hipparcos Catalogue of 118,218 stars charted with the highest precision (published in 1997) containing positions, distances, → parallaxes, and → proper motions. An auxiliary star mapper pinpointed many more stars with lesser but still unprecedented accuracy, in the Tycho Catalogue of 1,058,332 stars. The Tycho 2 Catalogue, completed in 2000, brings the total to 2,539,913 stars, and includes 99% of all stars down to magnitude 11. → Gaia.

Hipparcos, acronym for → High  → Precision  → Parallax  → Collecting → Satellite, chosen for its similarity to the name of the Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Nicaea (c. 190-125 BC), one of the most influential astronomers of antiquity, who compiled an extensive star catalogue in which he gave the positions of over 1,000 stars and also classified them according to their magnitude (on a scale of 1 to 6, brightest to faintest). Ptolemy later incorporated this information into his → Almagest. In addition, he discovered the → precession of the equinoxes.

The smallest known moon orbiting the planet → Neptune, discovered in 2013. Hippocamp has an estimated diameter of only about 34 km and orbits close to → Proteus, the outer and the second largest of Neptune's moons. The orbital → semi-major axes of the two moons differ by only 10%. Hippocamp is probably an ancient fragment of Proteus. Billions of years ago a comet collision would have chipped off a chunk of Proteus. Images from the Voyager 2 space probe from 1989 show a large → impact crater on Proteus, whose size compares with Hippocamp's (Showalter et al., 2019, Nature 566, 350).

Formerly known as S/2004 N 1, Hippocamp is named after the sea creatures in Greek and Roman mythology. The mythological Hippocampus possesses the upper body of a horse and the lower body of a fish. The Roman god Neptune would drive a sea-chariot pulled by Hippocampi.

A curve described by the → polar equation  r² = 4b (a - b sin²θ), where a and b are positive constants. For appropriate values of a and b, the curve looks like the infinity symbol, ∞. See also → spheres of Eudoxus.

Hippopede, literally "a horse's foot," denoting a "horse fetter (hobble)," from Gk. hippos, → horse, + -pede variant of -ped, combining form of pos,→ foot.

A type of graphical representation, used in statistics, in which frequency distributions are illustrated by rectangles.

Histogram, from Gk. histo-, a combining form meaning "tissue," from histos "mast, loom, beam, warp, web," literally "that which causes to stand," from histasthai "to stand," from PIE *sta- "to stand" (cf. Pers. ist-, istâdan "to stand;" O.Pers./Av. sta- "to stand, stand still; set;" Skt. sthâ- "to stand;" L. stare "to stand;" Lith. statau "place;" Goth. standan); → -gram.

Nemudâr, → diagram + sotuni "column-like," from sotun "column," from Mid.Pers. stun, from O.Pers. stênâ "column," Av. stuna-, Skt. sthuna- "column."

Of, pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of → history or past events (Dictionary.com). → historical supernova.

→ history; → -al.

A supernova event recorded in the course of history before the invention of the telescope. The well recorded supernovae of this small group are SN 185, SN 1006, SN 1054 (→ Crab Nebula), SN 1181, SN 1572 (→ Tycho's star), and SN 1604 (→ Kepler's star).

→ historical; → supernova.

1) The branch of knowledge dealing with past events.
2) The record and explanation of past events and times, especially in connection with a particular people, country, period, person, etc. See: → star formation history, → historical supernova.

History, from M.E. histoire, historie, from O.Fr. estoire, histoire, from L. historia "narrative, tale, story," from Gk. historia "a learning or knowing by inquiry, record, account," from historein "to inquire," from histor "one who knows or sees, wise man, " from PIE *wid-tor-, from base *weid- "to know; to see;" cf. Pers. bin- "to see" (present stem of didan); Mid.Pers. wyn-; O.Pers. vain- "to see;" Av. vaēn- "to see;" Skt. veda "I know." Related to Gk. idein "to see," and to eidenai "to know," → idea.

Târix, from Ar., itself, according to Abu Rayhân Biruni (973-1048, in Athar al-Baqqiya), loan from Mid.Pers. mâhrôz "date," first Arabicized as murux, from which the infinitive taurix, and then târix.

Another name for → frost.

The world's largest meteorite found in 1920, near Grootfontein, Namibia. It was discovered by Jacobus H. Brits while ploughing one of his fields with an ox. The meteorite is tabular in shape and measures 2.95 x 2.84 m; it has an average thickness of about 1 m (1.22 m maximum and 0.75 m minimum). The Hoba meteorite weighs about 65-70 tons. Its chemical composition is 82.4 % iron, 16.4 % nickel, 0.8 % Cobalt, and traces of other metals. No crater is present around the site of the meteorite, probably because it fell at a lower rate of speed than expected. The flat shape of the object may be responsible for its low velocity at impact.

Named after Hoba West, the farm it was discovered; → meteorite.

An → orbital maneuver using two timed engine impulses to move a spacecraft between two coplanar circular orbits. It is performed through an elliptic orbit which is tangent to both circles at their periapses (→ periapsis).

→ Hohmann transfer orbit.

An elliptical orbit that is the most economical path for a spacecraft to take from one planet to another. In the case of Earth-Mars travel, the desired orbit's → perihelion will be at the distance of Earth's orbit, and the → aphelion will be at the distance of Mars' orbit. The portion of the solar orbit that takes the spacecraft from Earth to Mars is called its trajectory. Earth and Mars align properly for a Hohmann transfer once every 26 months. → Hohmann transfer.

Named after Walter Hohmann (1880-1945), German engineer, who developed basic principles and created advanced tools necessary for the conquest of space. In 1925 he published The Attainability of the Heavenly Bodies in which he described the mathematical principles that govern space vehicle motion, in particular spacecraft transfer between two orbits.

1) General: An opening through something; an area where something is missing; a serious discrepancy.
2) Astro.: → black hole; → coronal hole.
3) Electronics: The absence of an electron in the valency structure of a crystalline semiconductor, behaving like a positive charge carrier.

O.E. hol "orifice, hollow place," from P.Gmc. *khulaz (cf. O.H.G. hol, M.Du. hool, Ger. hohl "hollow"), from PIE base *kel- "to cover, conceal." → cell.

Surâx "hole," from Mid.Pers. sûlâk "whole, aperture," Av. sūra- "hole;" cf. Gk. koilos "hollow," L. cava "cave," cavus "hollow;" PIE base keuə- "to swell; vault, hole."
Câlé, câl "hole," from câh "a well, pit," from Mid.Pers. câh "a well;" Av. cāt- "a well," from kan- "to dig," uskən- "to dig out" (O.Pers. kan- "to dig," akaniya- "it was dug;" Mod.Pers. kandan "to dig"); cf. Skt. khan- "to dig," khanati "he digs," kha- "cavity, hollow, cave, aperture."

The injection of holes in a semiconductor which can be produced by application of a sharp conducting point in contact with an n-type semiconductor.

→ hole; → injection.

1) A day fixed by law or custom on which ordinary business is suspended in commemoration of some event or in honor of some person.
2) Any day of exemption from work.
3) (in plural form) A period of cessation from work or one of recreation; vacation.

O.E. haligdæg, from halig "holy," → heiligenschein, + dæg, → day.

1) Sepantruz, from sepant "holy," → heiligenschein, + ruz, → day.
2) Âsudruz, from âsud, âsudan "to rest, repose," from Mid.Pers. âsutan, Av. ā- + saē- (saii-) "to lie down, go to sleep;" + ruz, → day.
3) Âsudgân, from âsud, as before, + -gân suffix forming plurals.

A combining form meaning "complete, entire, total, whole," used in the formation of compound words: → holonomic, → holography, holomorphic.

From M.E. holo-, from O.fr., from L. hol-, holo-, from Gk. holos "whole," akin to Pers. har- "every, all, each, any," as below.

Haru, from Mid.Pers. har(v) "all, each, every" (Mod.Pers. har "every, all, each, any"); O.Pers. haruva- "whole, all together;" Av. hauruua- "whole, at all, undamaged;" cf. Skt. sárva- "whole, all, every, undivided;" Gk. holos "whole, complete;" L. salvus "whole, safe, healthy," sollus "whole, entire, unbroken;" PIE base *sol- "whole."

1) A great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire.
2) (usually initial capital letter, preceded by the) The systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II (Dictionary.com).

M.E., from L.L. holocaustum, from Gk. holokaustos "burnt whole;" see → holo- "complete, entire, total," → caustic "burning; burnt."

Harusuc "entirely burnt;" → holo-, → caustic "burning; burnt."

A three-dimensional image produced with the technique of → holography.

→ holo-; → -gram.

Of, relating to, or produced using → holography; three-dimensional.

→ holo- + → -graphic.

A → diffraction grating produced from a series of constructive → interference fringes. The fringes, whose intensities vary in a sinusoidal pattern, correspond to the grooves of the grating. They are recorded on a photosensitive substrate and subsequently treated using a chemical procedure. Since the grooves are created by the interference of light, such a grating is free from the random and periodic errors present in → ruled gratings.

→ holographic; → grating.