An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A sudden, violent gust of wind, often accompanied by rain, snow, or sleet.

A sudden increase of the mean wind speed which lasts for several minutes at least before the mean wind returns to near its previous value. It is often accompanied by rain or snow.

Etymology (EN): Probably from a Scand. source (cf. Norw. skval “sudden rush of water,” Sw. skvala “to gush, pour down”).

Etymology (PE): Bâdzad, from bâd, → wind + zad past stem of zadan “to strike, beat; to do; to play an instrument” (Mid.Pers. zatan, žatan; O.Pers./Av. jan-, gan- “to strike, hit, smite, kill” (jantar- “smiter”); cf.
Skt. han- “to strike, beat” (hantar- “smiter, killer”);
Gk. theinein “to strike;” L. fendere “to strike, push;” Gmc. *gundjo “war, battle;” PIE *g^when- “to strike, kill”).

1. A rectangle having all four sides of equal length.
   
2. The second power of a quantity, expressed as a² = a × a, where a is the quantity. → inverse square law.

Etymology (EN): M.E., from O.Fr. esquire “a square, squareness,” from V.L. *exquadra, from *exquadrare “to square,” from L. → ex- “out” + quadrare “make square,” from quadrus “a square,” from quattuor→ four.

Etymology (PE): Câruš, from Av. caθruša- “four sides (of a four-sided figure)”, from caθru- “four,” Mod.Pers. cahâr, câr “four”

• uša- “angle,” Mod.Pers. guš, gušé.

A solid angle whose cone is a tetrahedral pyramid with an angle between its edges equal to 1°. 1 square degree = 3.046 x 10^-4 sr = 2.424 x 10^-5 solid angle of a complete sphere.

See also: → square; → degree.

An international project to construct a highly sensitive radio interferometer array operating between 0.15 and 20 GHz with an effective collecting area of one square kilometer. The number of individual telescopes will be 2000 to 3000. SKA will have a sensitivity 100 times higher than that of today’s best radio telescopes and an angular resolution < 0.1 arcsec at 1.4 GHz.
The site will be selected in 2012 and early science with Phase 1 is scheduled for from 2016 on. See also the SKA homepage.

See also: → square; → kilometer; → array.

A → matrix with equal numbers of → rows and → columns (i.e., an n × n matrix).

See also: → square; → matrix.

A large → asterism of four stars, approximately square in
shape, in the northern sky. Three of the stars, → → Markab, → Scheat, and → Algenib, belong to the constellation → Pegasus. The fourth, → Alpheratz, was lost to Pegasus when the constellation boundaries were formalised, and now lies just within the borders of → Andromeda.

Etymology (EN): → square; → Pegasus.

Etymology (PE): Chahârguš, → tetragon; → Pegasus.

Quantity which when multiplied by itself produces
another quantity.

See also: → square; → root.

An oscillation which alternatively assumes, for equal lengths of time, one or two fixed values.

See also: → square; → wave.

Same as → quadrature of the circle

See also: → square; → wave.

The mathematical problem of subdividing a square into a number of smaller squares, all of different sizes.

See also: → square; → square.

In → supersymmetry theories, a hypothetical → boson super-partner of a → quark. See also → slepton.

See also: s from → supersymmetry; → quark.