General astronomy

General astronomy

Industry: Astronomy

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General astronomy

nova

Astronomy; General astronomy

an object that greatly increases in brightness rapidly, so it appears as a ``new star''. It is caused by the buildup on a white dwarf's surface of hydrogen gas from a companion star to the point ...

reflector telescope

Astronomy; General astronomy

telescope that uses a large mirror at the back of the telescope to gather and focus the light. It has no size limit and is the type preferred for large research telescopes.

refraction

Astronomy; General astronomy

the bending of waves when they pass from one transparent medium (or vacuum) to another (e.g., sunlight bending as it passes through the Earth's atmosphere).

refractor telescope

Astronomy; General astronomy

telescope that uses a large glass lens at the front end of the telescope to gather and focus the light. The glass lens has a maximum size limit and suffers to some degree from chromatic aberration.

representative sample

Astronomy; General astronomy

a collection of objects that includes all parts of the population of the objects in their proper proportions; an unbiased sample that gives accurate results.

resolving power

Astronomy; General astronomy

the ability of a telescope to detect very small details and produce sharp images. It depends on the diameter of the telescope's objective or the interferometer AND the wavelength of light used to ...

retrograde motion

Astronomy; General astronomy

when a solar system object (e.g., a planet) moves ``backward'' (westward) with respect to its normal eastward drift against the stars. It happens when the Earth is closest to the object.