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

An empirical rule discovered before the advent of quantum mechanics which states that it is possible to find pairs of spectral lines, which have the property that the sum of their wavenumbers is also an observed spectral line.

Named after Walther Ritz (1878-1909), a Swiss theoretical physicist; → combination; → principle.

1) A person who is competing for the same object or goal as another, or who tries to equal or outdo another; competitor.
2) A person or thing that is in a position to dispute another's preeminence or superiority (Dictionary.com).

From L. rivalis "a rival, adversary; neighbor," originally, "one who uses a stream in common with another," from riv(us) "stream, brook," + -alis, → -al.

Hamâvard "a rival; an adversary in a combat," from ham- "together," → com-, + âvard "battle, struggle," variants nabard, nibard, nâvard "fight, struggle, war," ultimately from Proto-Ir. *part- "to fight, to struggle."

1) The action, position, or relation of a rival or rivals; competition.
2) An instance of this (Dictionary.com).

Noun from → rival.

A large natural stream of water flowing in a definite course.

M.E., from O.Fr. rivere, riviere, from V.L. *riparia "riverbank, seashore, river," noun use of feminine of L. riparius "of a riverbank."

Rud, from Mid.Pers. rôd "river," O.Pers. rautah- "river;" cf. Skt. srotas- "river," sru- "to flow;" Pali sota- "stream, flood;" Gk. rhoos "a stream, a flowing," from rhein "to flow;" O.E. stream; Ger. Strom; PIE base *sreu- "to flow."

Same as → rapidly oscillating Ap star

→ rapidly oscillating Ap star

The mathematical description of the interval (→ space-time separation) between → events ("points" in space-time) in a → homogeneous and → isotropic → Universe. It results from an exact solution of → Einstein's field equations of → general relativity. Under the assumptions, the Robertson-Walker interval is expressed by:
ds² = c²dt² - R²(t) [dr²/(1 - kr²) + r²dθ² + r²sin²θ dθ²)].
Same as Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker metric. Compare → Minkowski metric.

Named after Howard Percy Robertson (1903-1961), American mathematician and physicist, and Arthur Geoffrey Walker (1909-2001), British mathematician and physicist, for their contributions to physics and physical cosmology; → metric.

A machine that does mechanical, routine tasks on command.

From Czech, coined by Karel Čapek in the play R.U.R. (1920), from the base robot-, as in robota "compulsory labor," robotník "peasant owing such labor," from robotiti "to work, drudge."

Robot, loan from E., as above.

The quality of a model when it is insensitive to small discrepancies in assumptions.

From L. robustus "strong and hardy," literally "as strong as oak," from robur, robus "hard timber, strength," also "a special kind of oak," named for its reddish heartwood, from L. ruber, → red.

Tanâvar "robust, stout, corpulent," from tan "corpus, body," → if and only if + âvar contraction of âvarandé agent noun of âvardan "to bring; to cause, produce," → collect.

The smallest distance at which a → satellite under the influence of its own → gravitation and that of a central mass about which it is describing a → Keplerian orbit can be in equilibrium. This does not, however, apply to a body held together by the stronger forces between atoms and molecules. At a lesser distance the → tidal forces of the → primary body would break up the → secondary body. The Roche limit is given by the formula d = 1.26 R_M (ρ_M/ρ_m)^1/3, where R_M is the radius of the → primary body, ρ_M is the → density of the primary, and ρ_m is the density of the secondary body. This formula can also be expressed as: d = 1.26 R_m (M_M/M_m)^1/3, where R_m is the radius of the secondary. As an example, for the Earth-Moon system, where R_M = 6,378 km, ρ_M = 5.5 g cm^-3, and ρ_m = 2.5 g cm^-3 is 1.68 Earth radii.

Named after Edouard Albert Roche (1820-1883), the French astronomer who first calculated this theoretical limit in 1848; → limit.

The region around a star in a → binary system within which orbiting material is gravitationally bound to that star. The point at which the Roche lobes of the two stars touch is called the → inner Lagrangian point. → equipotential surface.

→ Roche limit; → lobe.

A process in a → binary system when a star fills its → Roche lobe, often by becoming a → giant or → supergiant during the later stages of → stellar evolution. When the star expands, any material that passes beyond the Roche lobe will flow onto the binary → companion, often by way of an → accretion disk. This occurs through the → inner Lagrangian point where the gravity of the two stars cancels. The RLOF is responsible for a number of phenomena including → cataclysmic variables, → Type Ia supernovae, and many → X-ray binary systems.

→ Roche lobe; → overflow.

1) A large mass of → stone forming a hill, cliff, promontory, or the like.
2) Geology: Mineral matter of variable composition, consolidated or unconsolidated, assembled in masses or considerable quantities in nature, as by the action of heat or water (Dictionary.com).

M.E. rokk(e), from O.Fr. ro(c)que, roche (cf. Sp., Provençal roca, It. rocca, M.L. rocca, V.L. *rocca, of uncertain origin.

Bard (Dehxodâ) "rock, stone," used in a large part of Western Iran, specifically in Lori and Kurd., related to Kurd. pal "rock, stone;" cf. Gk. poros "rock." Sang, → stone.

Pure natural crystalline form of → silica, SiO₂, which is transparent and colorless.

→ rock; → crystal.

A projectile driven by reaction propulsion that carries its own propellants. → missile = mušak (موشک).

From It. rocchetto "a rocket," literally "a bobbin," diminutive of rocca "a distaff," with reference to its shape.

The study of celestial bodies in the wavelengths that are almost completely absorbed by the atmosphere, by using a rocket to carry instruments above 250 km to measure the searched for phenomena.

→ rocket; → astronomy.

The science of rocket design, development, and flight.

→ rocket + -ry a noun suffix.

Roket šenâsi, from roket, → rocket, + šenâsi, → -logy; roketgari with suffix -gari, from -gar, → -or.

A rocket launched from a balloon at a pre-determined height and fired by a ground-controlled radio relay when some particular event, e.g. a solar flare, occurs.

From rocket + balloon.

From roket + bâlon, → ballon astronomy.

A time delay caused by the light travel across a → dynamical system. The finite → speed of light causes a delay, for example, between the → primary eclipse and the → secondary eclipse in → binary systems.

Named after Ole Rømer (1664-1710), who discovered the finite speed of light, → Roemer's measurement; → delay.

The first successful measurement of the → speed of light carried out by the Danish astronomer Ole Rømer in 1675 at Paris Observatory. Astronomers knew that the mean period of revolution for Jupiter's innermost satellite → Io (Jupiter I) was 42.5 hours. During this period Io was sometimes eclipsed by Jupiter. Astronomers expected that if Io was visible at some time it must be visible 42.5 hours later. But Ole Rømer discovered that there were many irregularities in Io's orbital period. Sometimes Io appeared too early and other times too late in relation to the expected times. The irregularities repeated themselves precisely at a one-year interval, which meant that they must be connected to the Earth's rotation around the Sun. Rømer attributed this difference in time to the additional distance the light from Io had to travel at different times, and used this information to calculate the speed of light. He found that it takes light 22 minutes to traverse the Earth's orbital diameter; the correct figure was later determined to be 16 minutes and 40 seconds. Rømer was able to measure the speed of light to be 230,000 km s^-1. Although this figure was very close to the currently accepted value of 300,000 km s^-1, it was rejected by the scientific community of the time, who assumed it to be much too high a figure.

Ole Rømer (1664-1710); → measurement.

A unit of radiation exposure defined as a charge release rate of 258 micro-coulombs per kilogram of air.

Named after the German physicist Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen (1845-1923), one of the early investigators of radioactivity.