An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A → prime number of the form 2^p - 1, where p is a prime. As of February 2013, 48 Mersenne primes are known. The largest known prime number is 2^57,885,161 - 1. Each prime gives rise to an even → perfect number.

See also: Marin Mersenne (1588-1648), French theologian, philosopher, mathematician and music theorist; → prime.