An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A metric prefix denoting 10^-24. As of 2007, yocto- is the smallest SI prefix to be approved.

See also: From L. octo, Gk. okto “eight,” because it is equal to 1/1000⁸.

A device for joining together a pair of draft animals, especially oxen, usually consisting of a crosspiece with two bow-shaped pieces, each enclosing the head of an animal (dictionary.com).
→ yoke mounting.

Etymology (EN): M.E.; O.E. geoc “yoke,” earlier geoht
(cf. O.S. juk, Dan. aag, M.Du. joc, Du. juk, O.H.G. joh, Ger. joch, Goth. juk “yoke”); cognate with Pers. yuq, as below

Etymology (PE): Yuq “yoke,” variants yuj, juh, jut, jot; Mid.Pers. jug, ayoxtan “to join, yoke;” Av. yaog- “to yoke, put to; to join, unite;” cf.
Skt. yugam “yoke;” Hittite yugan “yoke;” Gk. zygon “yoke,” as above, zeugnyanai “to join, unite;” L. jungere “to join,”
O.C.S. igo, O.Welsh iou, Lith. jungas O.E. geoc, as above;
PIE base *yeug- “to join.”

A form of → English mounting in which the → telescope is suspended inside an inclined fork, supported at both ends, and forming a → right ascension axis parallel to the Earth’s → axis. The telescope pivots about the → declination axis inside two parallel forks.

See also: → yoke; → mounting.

A phenomenon in which the rotation rate of a small asteroid changes under sunlight absorption. Photons from the Sun are absorbed by a small body and reradiated in infrared. In the process, two forces influence the object: one from the impact of the photons, providing a tiny push, and the other as a recoil effect when the object emits the absorbed energy. In the YORP effect the body’s shape has a more effective role than albedo in altering the spin rate. For small asteroids (< 10 km), YORP can cause measurable changes in rotation rate. The effect can even speed up the rotation leading to disintegration. → Yarkovsky effect.

See also: Short for Ivan Osipovich Yarkovsky, John A. O‘Keefe, V. V. Radzievskii, and Stephen J. Paddockk, who developed the explanation; → effect.

A metric prefix denoting 10²⁴.

See also: On the model of → yocto-.

Being in the first or early stage of existence or evolution; e.g. → young stellar object.

Etymology (EN): M.E.; O.E. geong “youthful, young,” from P.Gmc. *jungas (cf. O.S., O.Fris. jung, O.N. ungr, M.Du. jonc, Du. jong, O.H.G., Ger. jung, Goth. juggs), from PIE base *yeu- “vital force, youthful vigor;” cognate with Pers. javân, as below.

Etymology (PE): Javân “young;” Mid.Pers. juwân “young, youth;” Arm. yavanak (loaned from Mid.Pers.); Av. yuuan- “youth;” cf. Skt. yuvan- “young, youth;” L. juvenis “young man;” Lith. jaunas “young;” O.C.S. junu, Rus. junyj “young;” cognate with E. young, as above.

Any star that has evolved past the → protostar stage, but has not yet arrived on the → main sequence. There is a variety of YSOs depending on their age, mass, and environment, including → Herbig stars, → T Tauri stars, and, in general, compact infrared sources embedded in molecular clouds.

See also: → young; → stellar; → object.

A method of producing → interference of light.
Two beams of → coherent light are produced by passing light through a very small circular aperture in one screen, then through two small circular apertures very close together in a second screen. On a third screen, behind the second screen, there will be
two overlapping sets of waves and, if the light is monochromatic, → interference fringes will appear on the third screen. The experiment can also be performed with a beam of electrons or atoms, showing similar interference patterns. Young’s experiment provides an evidence of the → wave-particle duality, as explained by → quantum mechanics. Same as → double-slit experiment.

See also: Named after the English scientist Thomas Young (1773-1829), who originally performed the experiment some time around 1801 in an attempt to resolve the question of whether light was composed of particles (the → corpuscular theory of light); or rather consisted of waves travelling through some → ether. The experiment proved the wave nature of light; → experiment.

A measure of elasticity of a material, defined as the ratio of tensile → stress to tensile → strain, which equals the ratio of compressive stress to compressive strain.

See also: Named after Thomas Young, → Young’s experiment.

Same as → paradox of youth.