An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A small telescope dedicated entirely to → asterolseismology. MOST is the first space telescope entirely designed and constructed by Canada. It was launched into space in 2003.

The satellite weighs only 54 kg and is equipped with an ultra high precision telescope that measures only 15 centimetres in diameter. Despite its tiny size, it is ten times more sensitive than the → Hubble Space Telescope in detecting the minuscule variations in a star’s luminosity caused by vibrations that shake its surface. MOST completes one orbit around the Earth every 101 minutes by passing over each of Earth’s poles.

See also: MOST, short for Microvariability and Oscillations of STars telescope.