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

1) General: The beginning or starting point.
2) Math.: The point of intersection of two or more axes.

M.E., from L. origin-, origo "beginning, source, lineage," from oriri "to rise," cognate with Pers. ras-, rasidan "to arrive;" O.Pers./Av. rasa- present stem of ar- to move, go or come forward;" cf. Skt. ar- "to reach, come toward, meet with," rccháti reaches;" Gk. erkhomai "to go, to reach."

Xâstgâh, from xâst past stem of xâstan, xizidan "to rise, get up" (Mid.Pers. xyz- "to stand up, rise;" Proto-Iranian *xiz- "to rise, ascend; increase") + -gâh suffix of time and place (Mid.Pers. gâh, gâs "time;" O.Pers. gāθu-; Av. gātav-, gātu- "place, throne, spot;" cf. Skt. gâtu- "going, motion; free space for moving; place of abode;" PIE *gwem- "to go, come").

The Hunter. A prominent constellation, one of the largest in the sky, located on the celestial equator around 5h 30m right ascension, 0° declination. This constellation is rich in bright stars and nebulae. The brightest star is Rigel (β Orionis), visual magnitude 0.2. The second brightest star is → Betelgeuse (α Orionis), magnitude between 0.2 and 1.0. A key feature of Orion's constellation is his Belt of three bright stars that form a nearly straight line across its central parts. It contains also the → Orion Nebula, the only region of massive star formation visible to the unaided eye.

In Gk. mythology, Orion was a giant hunter and the enemy of Artemis the huntress, who according to some tales was responsible for his death. Other stories, though, tell how he pursued the Pleiades and with them was turned into a constellation to chase them forever across the sky.

Šekârgar, "→ hunter."

A minor → spiral arm of the → Milky Way Galaxy close to which the → Sun is located. It is some 3,500 → light-years across and approximately 10,000 light-years in length. The solar system lies close to the inner rim of this spiral arm, about halfway along its length. Its name derives from the fact that the stars closest to the Sun which actually lie within the arm are in the constellation → Orion. Its other designations are → Local Arm, → Local Spur, → Orion Bridge, → Orion Spur, and → Orion-Cygnus Arm.

→ Orion; → arm.

A large OB stellar association centered on the → Orion Nebula. Lying some 1500 → light-years away, it is about 400 light-years across and contains the main stars of Orion, except → Betelgeuse.

→ Orion; → association.

A part of a → molecular cloud toward the → Orion Nebula viewed edge-on. It is the surface of interaction between the → H II region and its → associated molecular cloud. Same as the → Orion Bright Bar.

→ Orion; → bar.

Same as → Orion Arm.

→ Orion; → bridge.

A prominent emission ridge in the → Orion Nebula located approximately 2' southeast of the → Trapezium cluster. Various observations have suggested that it is an escarpment in the main → ionization front of the Nebula seen almost edge-on. The Orion Bar is one of the nearest and best-studied → photodissociation regions.

→ Orion; → bright; → bar.

A controversial proposition according to which a coincidence would exist between the mutual positions of the three stars of → Orion's Belt and those of the main Giza pyramids. More specifically, Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure would be the monumental representation of → Alnitak, → Alnilam, and → Mintaka, respectively.

→ Orion; → correlation; → theory.

A giant cloud, or complex of clouds, of interstellar gas and dust associated with the Orion nebula (M42). It is about 1,500 light-years away and measures about 240 light-years across. Besides M42 and M43 it contains a number of famous objects, including Barnard's Loop, the Horsehead Nebula, and the reflection nebulae around M78. Within this cloud, stars have formed recently, and are still in the process of formation.

→ Orion; → molecular cloud.

The best known → ionized nebula and one of the nearest regions to the Sun in which stars are presently being formed. It is visible to the naked eye in the constellation → Orion south of → Orion's Belt as a fuzzy patch. It lies about 1,500 → light-years away and measures about 30 light-years across. The Orion Nebula is ionized and made visible by a small group of → O-type and → B-type stars known as the → Trapezium cluster. Other designations: M 42, NGC 1976. See also: → Orion molecular cloud; → Huygens Region ; → Orion association; → Orion Bar; → Orion Bright Bar.

→ Orion; → nebula.

An → OB association consisting of several dozen → hot stars of → spectral types O and B (→ O star, → B star). The Orion OB1 association consists of several subgroups, first divided by Blaauw (1964) into four subgroups. The subgroups differ in age and gas and dust content:
Orin OB1a, which contains the stars to the northwest of → Orion's Belt stars. Within this group lies another subgroup, known as the → 25 Orionis group;
Orion OB1b, containing the group of stars located in and around the Belt;
Orion OB1c, including the stars around → Orion's Sword; and
Orion OB1d, which contains the stars in and close to the → Orion Nebula (including the → Trapezium cluster).

→ Orion; → OB association.

Same as → Orion Arm.

→ Orion; → → spur.

Three prominent stars in the central regions of the constellation → Orion that align to form the "belt" of the mythological Hunter. They are → Alnitak (ζ Ori), → Alnilam (ε Ori), and → Mintaka (δ Ori). The easternmost star Alnitak is separated from the middle one, Alnilam, by 1°.36, and the westernmost Mintaka has an angular distance of 1°.23 from Alnilam. Their distance is between 800 and 1,300 → light-years from Earth. They probably formed inside the same → molecular cloud less than 10 million years ago.

→ Orion; → belt.

An astronomical → asterism in the constellation → Orion forming an almost vertical line beneath → Orion's Belt. From north to south, the most prominent objects in the Sword are the cluster NGC 1981, the star → 42 Orionis, the famous → Orion Nebula, and the Sword's brightest star → Iota Orionis (→ Hatsya). None of these objects is particularly bright in itself, but their proximity to one another and the nebulosity across much of this region makes the Sword stand out clearly in the night sky.

→ Orion; → sword.

Same as → Orion Arm.

→ Orion; → Cygnus; → arm.

A meteor shower that appears to emanate from the constellation → Orion. It peaks between October 14 and 20 with about 20 meteors per hour.

→ Orion + → -ides.

1) A child who has lost both parents through death, or, less commonly, one parent.
2) A young animal that has been deserted by or has lost its mother (Dictionary.com). → orphaned protostar.

M.E., from L.L. orphanus "destitute, without parents," from Gk. orphanos "bereaved;" akin to L. orbus "bereaved," Skt. arbhah "weak, child," Armenian orb "orphan," O.Irish orbe "heir," O.C.S. rabu "slave," Ger. Erbe, O.E. ierfa "heir," O.H.G. arabeit, Ger. Arbeit "work," O.E. earfoδ "hardship, suffering, trouble."

Yatim "fatherless," from Ar.

A → protostellar object which has been dynamically ejected from a newborn → multiple star system, either into a tenuously bound orbit or into an escape, thus depriving it from gaining much additional mass. Recent observations have shown that → Class I protostellar sources have a population of distant companions at separations ~ 1000 to 5000 → astronomical unit (AU)s. Moreover, the companion fraction diminishes as the sources evolve. According to N-body simulations of unstable → triple systems embedded in dense cloud cores, many companions are ejected into unbound orbits and quickly escape, but others are ejected with insufficient momentum to climb out of the potential well of the cloud core and associated binary. These loosely bound companions reach distances of many thousands of AU before falling back and eventually being ejected into escapes as the cloud cores gradually disappear (B. Reipurth et al. 2010, arXiv:1010.3307).

→ orphan; → protostar.

A mechanical device that illustrates the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the solar system in heliocentric model.

Named after Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery (1676-1731), for whom the device was first made.

Prefix denoting right, straight, correct.
Prefix indicating that an organic compound contains a benzene ring substituted in the 1.2 position.

Ortho-, from Gk. orthos "set upright, straight, true, correct, regular;" cf. L. arduus "high, steep," O.Ir. ard "high;" also cognate with Av. ərəduua-, as below; from PIE *eredh- "high."

Ardâ-, from Av. ərəduua- "upright, erect, risen;" cf. Skt. ūrdhvá- "upright, tending upward, high;" Gk. ortho, as above.