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

A → neutron star which does not belong to a → binary system, does not have radio emission, and is not surrounded by a progenitor → supernova remnant. INSs appear to be thermally cooling with no emission outside the → soft X-ray band, except for faint optical/UV counterparts. Although these properties are similar to those of → compact central object (CCO)s, they are a distinct class because they lack any observable associated supernova remnant or nebula. There are presently seven confirmed INSs (sometimes referred to as The Magnificent Seven), six of which have measured weakly modulated X-ray pulsations with periods between 3 s and 11 s, much longer than those of CCOs (A. K. Harding, 2013, Front. Phys. 8, 679).

→ isolated; → neutron; → star.

Thermodynamics: A system which has no exchange of energy or matter with surroundings. The internal energy of such a system remains constant. → closed system; → open system.

→ isolated; → system.

An act or instance of isolating; the state of being isolated.

Verbal noun of → isolate.

Physics: Any of two or more nuclei having the same atomic number A and mass number Z but different half-lives.
Chemistry: One of two or more substances that have the same chemical composition but differ in structural form.

Back formation from isomeric, from → iso- + mer a combining form meaning "part," from Gk. meros "part, portion, share."

Izomer, loan from Fr. isomère.

A one-to-one → mapping between two → sets, which preserves the relations existing between elements in its → domain. An isomorphism is a → bijective morphism.

→ iso-; → morphism.

A line drawn through all points on a weather map having the same amount of → cloud cover.

From Gk. → iso- + nephos "cloud," cognate with Pers. nam "humidity, moisture;" Av. napta- "moist," nabās-câ- "cloud," nabah- "sky;" Skt. nábhas- "moisture, cloud, mist;" L. nebula "mist," nimbus "rainstorm, rain cloud;" O.H.G. nebul; Ger. Nebel "fog;" O.E. nifol "dark;" from PIE *nebh- "cloud, vapor, fog, moist, sky."

Izoabr, from izo-, → iso-, + abr → cloud.

Of or relating to → isophotes.

→ isophote; → -al.

The size attributed to a galaxy corresponding to a particular level of → surface brightness. The reason is that galaxies do not have sharp edges.

→ isophotal; → radius.

A line joining points with the same surface brightness on a plot or in image of a celestial object such as a nebula or galaxy.

Isophote, from → iso- + a combining form of Gk. phos (gen. photos) "light."

Izošid, from izo-, → iso-, + šid "light, sunlight," from Mid.Pers. šêt "shining, radiant, bright;" Av. xšaēta- "shining, brilliant, splendid, excellent."

The quality of an imaging system which is characterized by → isoplanatism.

From → iso- "equal, uniform" + Gk. plane "wandering," from planasthai "to wander" + -tic adjective-forming suffix, → -ic.

Izobirâh, from izo-, → iso-, + birâh "a devious path; a wanderer, who deviates, errs."

The angle in which the → point spread function of the atmosphere/telescope system is space invariant. Because of the presence of → turbulence in high layers of the atmosphere, this angle is extremely small, often only a few seconds of arc at visible wavelengths. See also → aplanatism.

→ isoplanatic; → angle.

The spatial region where the variation of the → point spread function of an imaging system is considered negligible.

→ isoplanatic; → patch.

In an imaging system, the unvarying of the → point spread function over an extended field of view.

From isoplanat(ic), → isoplanatic, + → -ism.

The condition in which the wavefronts arriving from different parts of a region of sky undergo almost identical phase perturbations. See also → isoplanatic patch.

→ isoplanatic; → patch.

A line on a map connecting points of equal value. For example the contour lines joining points of equal altitude on a topographic map. Some other examples of isopleths are: → isobar, → isoneph, and → isohel.

From Gk. isoplethes, from → iso- + pleth(os) "great number, multitude;" cognate with Pers. por, → full, + -es adj. suffix.

Izocand, from izo-, → iso-, + cand replacing candi (after prefix) "quantity," from Mid.Pers. candih "amount, quantity," from cand "how many, how much; so many, much;" O.Pers. yāvā "as long as;" Av. yauuant- [adj.] "how great?, how much?, how many?," yauuat [adv.] "as much as, as far as;" cf. Skt. yāvant- "how big, how much;" Gk. heos "as long as, until."

A triangle having two sides equal.

From L.L. isosceles, from Gk. isoskeles "with equal legs; that can be divided into two equal parts," from isos "equal, identical," → iso-, + skelos "leg."

Sebar, → triangle, do-pahlu-baraabar, from do, → two, pahlu, → side, barâbar, → equal.

A quantum number based on the assumption that the nucleon (proton and neutron) is a single entity having two states, like → spin. It is conserved by the strong interaction. Same as isotopic spin, isobaric spin.

From → iso- + → spin

Meteo.: A line on a map or graph joining points of equal temperature.

Isotherm, back formation from → isothermal.

Izodamâ, from → iso- + damâ, → temperature.

1) Relating to or having a constant temperature.
2) Pertaining to an → isotherm.

Isothermal, from → iso- + therm, from Gk. therme "heat" thermos "warm;" cognate with Pers. garm "warm" (garmâ "heat, warmth," from Mid.Pers. garmâg; O.Pers./Av. garəma- "hot, warm;" cf. Skt. gharmah "heat;" L. formus "warm," fornax "oven;" P.Gmc. *warmaz; O.E. wearm; E. warm; O.H.G., Ger. warm; PIE *ghworm-/*ghwerm- "warm") + → -al; → process.

Izodamâ, from → iso- + damâ, → temperature.

A → thermodynamic process that takes place at → constant  → temperature. For the temperature of a system to remain strictly constant, the changes in other coordinates (pressure and volume) must be carried out slowly, and → heat must enter or leave the system to maintain a constant temperature. → polytropic process. Astrophysical examples include the → collapse of a → protostar down the → Hayashi track, and the collapse of a star at the end of its life to become a → white dwarf.

→ isothermal; → process.