An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. General: A period of time marked by a distinctive character, events, etc.
   

2. A system of chronological notation reckoned from a given date.
   

3. Geology: A subdivision of geologic time that is longer than a period but shorter than an eon. Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic are the eras of the time scale from oldest to youngest.

Etymology (EN): From L.L. æra, era “fixed date, era, epoch from which time is reckoned,” probably identical with L. æra “counters used for calculation,” plural of aes “brass, money,” from PIE *aus- “gold” (cf. Av. aiiah- “metal,”
aiianhaēna- “made of metal;” Skt. áyas- “metal;” O.H.G. ēr “ore;” O.E. ora “ore, unworked metal;” Ger. ehern “brazen”).

Etymology (PE): Dowrân, from Ar. daur “age, time; revolution.”

1. General: A period of time marked by a distinctive character, events, etc.
   

2. A system of chronological notation reckoned from a given date.
   

3. Geology: A subdivision of geologic time that is longer than a period but shorter than an eon. Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic are the eras of the time scale from oldest to youngest.

Etymology (EN): From L.L. æra, era “fixed date, era, epoch from which time is reckoned,” probably identical with L. æra “counters used for calculation,” plural of aes “brass, money,” from PIE *aus- “gold” (cf. Av. aiiah- “metal,”
aiianhaēna- “made of metal;” Skt. áyas- “metal;” O.H.G. ēr “ore;” O.E. ora “ore, unworked metal;” Ger. ehern “brazen”).

Etymology (PE): Dowrân, from Ar. daur “age, time; revolution.”

A simple way of calculating the Earth’s → circumference using two sticks and two theorems of the → Euclidean geometry. Eratosthenes calculated the length of a → meridian arc by measuring the shadow cast by a vertical → gnomon at noon on the → summer solstice. In Cyene (→ tropic of Cancer), no shadow is
cast whereas in Alexandria, further north, the shadow is cast at an angle of 1/50 of 360° (measured using a → scaphe), or 7.2°, from the vertical. The circumference is therefore equal to 50 times the distance between the two cities. The distance from Syene to Alexandria was 5,000 stadia, which when multiplied by 50 gives the measure for the Earth’s circumference, 250,000 stadia. Estimating the accuracy of this result is not easy because the unit of stadium is not uniquely defined in the ancient world. The most likely reconstruction puts Eratosthenes’ stadium in the range 155-185m, implying an error of about 3% below or 15% above the true value. The modern value for the equatorial circumference of the Earth is 40,075 km. As scholars have pointed out, Eratosthenes’ experiment was marred by several errors: Syene is not on the Tropic of cancer,
it is not on the same meridian as Alexandria, and the distance between the two cities is less than he estimated. But the errors tended to cancel each other out, so his estimate was relatively accurate. See also: → Mamun’s method, → Biruni’s method.

See also: Eratosthenes (c. 276-194 B.C.), Gk. mathematician, astronomer, and geographer. He studied in Athens and later became a librarian in Alexandria. His treatise On the Measuring of the Earth is lost. The account of his experiment has been preserved in Cleomedes (probably first century A.D.). See also → sieve of Eratosthenes; → experiment.

A simple way of calculating the Earth’s → circumference using two sticks and two theorems of the → Euclidean geometry. Eratosthenes calculated the length of a → meridian arc by measuring the shadow cast by a vertical → gnomon at noon on the → summer solstice. In Cyene (→ tropic of Cancer), no shadow is
cast whereas in Alexandria, further north, the shadow is cast at an angle of 1/50 of 360° (measured using a → scaphe), or 7.2°, from the vertical. The circumference is therefore equal to 50 times the distance between the two cities. The distance from Syene to Alexandria was 5,000 stadia, which when multiplied by 50 gives the measure for the Earth’s circumference, 250,000 stadia. Estimating the accuracy of this result is not easy because the unit of stadium is not uniquely defined in the ancient world. The most likely reconstruction puts Eratosthenes’ stadium in the range 155-185m, implying an error of about 3% below or 15% above the true value. The modern value for the equatorial circumference of the Earth is 40,075 km. As scholars have pointed out, Eratosthenes’ experiment was marred by several errors: Syene is not on the Tropic of cancer,
it is not on the same meridian as Alexandria, and the distance between the two cities is less than he estimated. But the errors tended to cancel each other out, so his estimate was relatively accurate. See also: → Mamun’s method, → Biruni’s method.

See also: Eratosthenes (c. 276-194 B.C.), Gk. mathematician, astronomer, and geographer. He studied in Athens and later became a librarian in Alexandria. His treatise On the Measuring of the Earth is lost. The account of his experiment has been preserved in Cleomedes (probably first century A.D.). See also → sieve of Eratosthenes; → experiment.

The → CGS unit of → energy; the → work done by a → force of 1 → dyne acting over a distance of 1 → centimeter. 1 erg = 10^-7 → joules = 6.242 × 10¹¹ → electron-volts.

See also: From Gk. ergon “work,” from PIE base *werg- “to work” (cf. Av. varəz- “to work, do, perform, exercise;” Mod.Pers. varz-, varzidan “to labor, exercise, practise;” Arm. gorc “work;” Lith. verziu “tie, fasten, squeeze,” vargas “need, distress;” Goth. waurkjan; O.E. wyrcan “work,” wrecan “to drive, hunt, pursue”).

The → CGS unit of → energy; the → work done by a → force of 1 → dyne acting over a distance of 1 → centimeter. 1 erg = 10^-7 → joules = 6.242 × 10¹¹ → electron-volts.

See also: From Gk. ergon “work,” from PIE base *werg- “to work” (cf. Av. varəz- “to work, do, perform, exercise;” Mod.Pers. varz-, varzidan “to labor, exercise, practise;” Arm. gorc “work;” Lith. verziu “tie, fasten, squeeze,” vargas “need, distress;” Goth. waurkjan; O.E. wyrcan “work,” wrecan “to drive, hunt, pursue”).

The property of a dynamical system such that in an interval of sufficient duration, it will return to states that are closely similar to previous ones.

Etymology (EN): From → erg + Gk. (h)od(os) “way, road” + → ic.

The property of a dynamical system such that in an interval of sufficient duration, it will return to states that are closely similar to previous ones.

Etymology (EN): From → erg + Gk. (h)od(os) “way, road” + → ic.

The study of the relationship between people and their working environment, in particular its effect on a person’s efficiency. Ergonomics is applied
in designing equipment and office systems
to maximize productivity by reducing discomfort and fatigue of people in their workplace.

Etymology (EN): From Gk. ergon “work,” → erg, + -nomics, → -nomy, → -ics.

Etymology (PE): Varzdâtik, from varz “work, " cognate with Gk. ergon, → erg, + dâtik “law, rule,” → -nomy.

The study of the relationship between people and their working environment, in particular its effect on a person’s efficiency. Ergonomics is applied
in designing equipment and office systems
to maximize productivity by reducing discomfort and fatigue of people in their workplace.

Etymology (EN): From Gk. ergon “work,” → erg, + -nomics, → -nomy, → -ics.

Etymology (PE): Varzdâtik, from varz “work, " cognate with Gk. ergon, → erg, + dâtik “law, rule,” → -nomy.

The region between the → event horizon and the → stationary limit of a rotating → Kerr black hole. It is possible for a particle falling inside the ergosphere to break into two parts, one of which will fall into the black hole and the other will come out.

See also: → erg + → sphere.

The region between the → event horizon and the → stationary limit of a rotating → Kerr black hole. It is possible for a particle falling inside the ergosphere to break into two parts, one of which will fall into the black hole and the other will come out.

See also: → erg + → sphere.

The River. An extensive constellation in the southern hemisphere that takes windings between 1h20 and 5h 10m right ascension, 0° to 58° south declination. Despite its size, there are not many bright stars in
this constellation. Notable are → Achernar and ε Eri, a dwarf star of magnitude 4.6 and type K2, which is just
10.7 light years away. Abbreviation: Eri; genitive: Eridani.

Etymology (EN): From Gk. Eridanos, a river god, a son of Oceanus and Tethys, and father of Zeuxippe. A purely mythical river which may have been named Eridanos (“Early Burnt”) from the story of Phaethon, the boy who attempted to drive the chariot of the sun, and fell flaming into the waters of this mythical river.

Etymology (PE): Rud, → river.

The River. An extensive constellation in the southern hemisphere that takes windings between 1h20 and 5h 10m right ascension, 0° to 58° south declination. Despite its size, there are not many bright stars in
this constellation. Notable are → Achernar and ε Eri, a dwarf star of magnitude 4.6 and type K2, which is just
10.7 light years away. Abbreviation: Eri; genitive: Eridani.

Etymology (EN): From Gk. Eridanos, a river god, a son of Oceanus and Tethys, and father of Zeuxippe. A purely mythical river which may have been named Eridanos (“Early Burnt”) from the story of Phaethon, the boy who attempted to drive the chariot of the sun, and fell flaming into the waters of this mythical river.

Etymology (PE): Rud, → river.

A → dwarf planet which is a
→ trans-Neptunian object (TNO) with an orbital → eccentricity of 0.44, an → inclination of 44 degrees and a surface composition very similar to that of → Pluto. It orbits the Sun as far as twice Pluto’s distance from the Sun. → Occultation observations carried out in 2010 were used to measure the size of Eris accurately. Eris’s newly determined diameter is 2326±12 km. The observations show that Eris is an almost perfect twin of Pluto in size. They also reveal a very reflective surface, with an → albedo of 0.96, suggesting that it is uniformly covered in a thin layer of ice, probably a frozen atmosphere (Sicardy et al. 2011, Nature 478, 493). Like Pluto, Eris has a moon, which has been officially named by the → International Astronomical Union as (136199) Eris I (→ Dysnomia).
The informal names of Eris were Xena and 2003 UB313.

See also: Named after Eris the Gk. goddess of chaos and strife. She created a quarrel among goddesses that led to the Trojan War.

A → dwarf planet which is a
→ trans-Neptunian object (TNO) with an orbital → eccentricity of 0.44, an → inclination of 44 degrees and a surface composition very similar to that of → Pluto. It orbits the Sun as far as twice Pluto’s distance from the Sun. → Occultation observations carried out in 2010 were used to measure the size of Eris accurately. Eris’s newly determined diameter is 2326±12 km. The observations show that Eris is an almost perfect twin of Pluto in size. They also reveal a very reflective surface, with an → albedo of 0.96, suggesting that it is uniformly covered in a thin layer of ice, probably a frozen atmosphere (Sicardy et al. 2011, Nature 478, 493). Like Pluto, Eris has a moon, which has been officially named by the → International Astronomical Union as (136199) Eris I (→ Dysnomia).
The informal names of Eris were Xena and 2003 UB313.

See also: Named after Eris the Gk. goddess of chaos and strife. She created a quarrel among goddesses that led to the Trojan War.

Geology: The act or state of eroding; state of being eroded.
A general term applied to the wearing away and movement of earth materials by the action of water, glaciers, winds, gravity, etc.

Etymology (EN): From M.Fr. erosion, from L. erosionem (nom. erosio), from erodere “to gnaw away,” from → ex- “away” + rodere “to gnaw, eat away” (cf. Fr. and E. animal rat).

Etymology (PE): Farsâyeš, from far- intensive prefix “much, abundant” (Mid.Pers. fra- “forward, before; much; around;”
O.Pers. fra- “forward, forth;” Av. frā, fərā-, fra- “forward, forth; excessive;” cf. Skt. prá- “before; forward, in fron;” Gk. pro “before, in front of;” L. pro “on behalf of, in place of, before, for;” PIE *pro-)

• verbal noun of sâyidan, variants sâbidan “to bruise, file,” pasâvidan “to touch;” Khotanese sauy- “to rub;” Sogdian ps’w- “to touch;” Proto-Iranian *sau- “to rub.”

Geology: The act or state of eroding; state of being eroded.
A general term applied to the wearing away and movement of earth materials by the action of water, glaciers, winds, gravity, etc.

Etymology (EN): From M.Fr. erosion, from L. erosionem (nom. erosio), from erodere “to gnaw away,” from → ex- “away” + rodere “to gnaw, eat away” (cf. Fr. and E. animal rat).

Etymology (PE): Farsâyeš, from far- intensive prefix “much, abundant” (Mid.Pers. fra- “forward, before; much; around;”
O.Pers. fra- “forward, forth;” Av. frā, fərā-, fra- “forward, forth; excessive;” cf. Skt. prá- “before; forward, in fron;” Gk. pro “before, in front of;” L. pro “on behalf of, in place of, before, for;” PIE *pro-)

• verbal noun of sâyidan, variants sâbidan “to bruise, file,” pasâvidan “to touch;” Khotanese sauy- “to rub;” Sogdian ps’w- “to touch;” Proto-Iranian *sau- “to rub.”

Same as → Gamma Cephei.

See also: From Ar. ar-râ’i (الراعی) “the shepherd.” Name approved (2015) by the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group on Star Names.

Same as → Gamma Cephei.

See also: From Ar. ar-râ’i (الراعی) “the shepherd.” Name approved (2015) by the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group on Star Names.

1. A deviation from accuracy or correctness; a mistake.
   

2. Physics: The difference between the calculated or observed value and the true value of a quantity. See also:
   → absolute error, → bias error, → calibration error, → cascade error, → error bar, → fitting error, → instrument error, → observational error, → probable error (PE), → random error, → relative error, → root-mean-square error, → sampling error, → standard error, → systematic error, → Type I error, → Type II error.

Etymology (EN): From O.Fr. erreur, from L. errorem (nom. error) “a wandering, straying, mistake,” from errare “to wander.”

Etymology (PE): Irang, from Mid.Pers. êrang “error, mistake;” xatâ, from Ar.

1. A deviation from accuracy or correctness; a mistake.
   

2. Physics: The difference between the calculated or observed value and the true value of a quantity. See also:
   → absolute error, → bias error, → calibration error, → cascade error, → error bar, → fitting error, → instrument error, → observational error, → probable error (PE), → random error, → relative error, → root-mean-square error, → sampling error, → standard error, → systematic error, → Type I error, → Type II error.

Etymology (EN): From O.Fr. erreur, from L. errorem (nom. error) “a wandering, straying, mistake,” from errare “to wander.”

Etymology (PE): Irang, from Mid.Pers. êrang “error, mistake;” xatâ, from Ar.

On a graph displaying the results of a measurement, the dash used to indicate the confidence range of the value attributed to a quantity.

Etymology (EN): → error; bar, from O.Fr. barre, from V.L. *barra “bar, barrier,” or perhaps from Gaulish *barro “summit.”

Etymology (PE): Band “that which closes, shuts, blocks,” from
bastan, band- “to shut, bind,” from Mid.Pers. bastan/vastan “to bind, shut,” Av./O.Pers. band- “to bind, fetter,” banda- “band, tie” (cf.
Skt. bandh- “to bind, tie, fasten,” PIE *bhendh- “to bind;” Ger. binden; E. bind); → error.

On a graph displaying the results of a measurement, the dash used to indicate the confidence range of the value attributed to a quantity.

Etymology (EN): → error; bar, from O.Fr. barre, from V.L. *barra “bar, barrier,” or perhaps from Gaulish *barro “summit.”

Etymology (PE): Band “that which closes, shuts, blocks,” from
bastan, band- “to shut, bind,” from Mid.Pers. bastan/vastan “to bind, shut,” Av./O.Pers. band- “to bind, fetter,” banda- “band, tie” (cf.
Skt. bandh- “to bind, tie, fasten,” PIE *bhendh- “to bind;” Ger. binden; E. bind); → error.

To burst forth; to eject matter (of a star, volcano, geyser, etc.). → eruptive variable.

Etymology (EN): From L eruptus “burst forth, broken out,” p.p. of erumpere “to break out, burst forth,” from → ex- “out”

• rumpere “to break, rupture.”

Etymology (PE): Osdaridan, from os-, → ex- + daridan “to tear, rend, lacerate;” Mid.Pers. darridan “to tear, split;” Av. dar- “to tear,” dərəta- “cut,” auua.dərənant- “shattering;” cf. Skt. dar- “to crack, split, break, burst,” darati “he splits;” Gk. derein “to flay,” derma “skin;” P.Gmc. *teran; O.E. teran; E. tear; Ger. zerren “to pull, to tear,” zehren “to undermine, to wear out;” PIE base *der- " to split, peel, flay."

To burst forth; to eject matter (of a star, volcano, geyser, etc.). → eruptive variable.

Etymology (EN): From L eruptus “burst forth, broken out,” p.p. of erumpere “to break out, burst forth,” from → ex- “out”

• rumpere “to break, rupture.”

Etymology (PE): Osdaridan, from os-, → ex- + daridan “to tear, rend, lacerate;” Mid.Pers. darridan “to tear, split;” Av. dar- “to tear,” dərəta- “cut,” auua.dərənant- “shattering;” cf. Skt. dar- “to crack, split, break, burst,” darati “he splits;” Gk. derein “to flay,” derma “skin;” P.Gmc. *teran; O.E. teran; E. tear; Ger. zerren “to pull, to tear,” zehren “to undermine, to wear out;” PIE base *der- " to split, peel, flay."

1. An act, process, or instance of erupting; something that is erupted or ejected.
   

2. → flare.
   

3. Geology: The ejection of molten rock, steam, etc., as from a volcano or geyser.

See also: Verbal noun of → erupt.

1. An act, process, or instance of erupting; something that is erupted or ejected.
   

2. → flare.
   

3. Geology: The ejection of molten rock, steam, etc., as from a volcano or geyser.

See also: Verbal noun of → erupt.

Relating to, formed by, characterized by, or producing → eruption.

See also: → eruption; → -ive.

Relating to, formed by, characterized by, or producing → eruption.

See also: → eruption; → -ive.

An astronomical object such as a → variable star, a → nova, a → young stellar object, etc.
characterized by abrupt changes of luminosity.

See also: → eruptive; → object.

An astronomical object such as a → variable star, a → nova, a → young stellar object, etc.
characterized by abrupt changes of luminosity.

See also: → eruptive; → object.

A huge solar prominence which has previously been quiescent but suddenly starts to lift up from the → photosphere with velocities of several hundred km/s and escapes into the → interplanetary space. Eruptive prominences with the highest velocities have been observed at 1300 km/s, reaching heights of 1 million km above the photosphere. Such prominences are often observed at the solar limb, in association with → coronal mass ejections. On the Sun’s disk, the equivalent phenomenon is an eruptive filament.

See also: → eruptive; → prominence

A huge solar prominence which has previously been quiescent but suddenly starts to lift up from the → photosphere with velocities of several hundred km/s and escapes into the → interplanetary space. Eruptive prominences with the highest velocities have been observed at 1300 km/s, reaching heights of 1 million km above the photosphere. Such prominences are often observed at the solar limb, in association with → coronal mass ejections. On the Sun’s disk, the equivalent phenomenon is an eruptive filament.

See also: → eruptive; → prominence

same as → cataclysmic variable.

See also: → eruptive; → variable.

same as → cataclysmic variable.

See also: → eruptive; → variable.