General astronomy

General astronomy

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General astronomy

Sputnik I

Astronomy; General astronomy

The first artificial satellite in space, launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1958, shocking the West.

The broadening of a star's spectral lines when viewed from a distance, or at low resolution, so that the star's individual surface features are no longer distinguishable. The broadening is caused by ...

lunar parallax

Astronomy; General astronomy

The angle subtended at the Moon by the Earth's equatorial radius. The parallax corresponding to the Moon's mean distance from the Earth is 57' 02''.608.

longitude of perigee

Astronomy; General astronomy

For the Moon or an artificial Earth satellite, the angle measured from the direction of the vernal equinox eastwards along the celestial equator to the ascending node of the satellite's orbit, and ...

local supercluster

Astronomy; General astronomy

The supercluster of galaxies that contains the Local Group, which lies near its edge. It is also known as the Virgo Supercluster since it is centered on the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. The local ...

north polar distance (NPD)

Astronomy; General astronomy

The angular distance of an object from the north celestial pole, measured along the hour circle passing through the object.

cosmic web

Astronomy; General astronomy

The largest known structure in the universe, as it is what many people think of as being the universe itself. It refers to the large cosmic structure of interconnected superclusters of galaxies. A ...