General astronomy

General astronomy

Industry: Astronomy

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General astronomy

Nanedi Valles

Astronomy; General astronomy

A large valley of Mars with a length of 508 km and 4 km width.

absolute magnitude

Astronomy; General astronomy

the brightness of an object that would be measured by an observer if the object was 10 parsecs away. It is a measure of the object's luminosity.

absorption line spectrum

Astronomy; General astronomy

dark lines in a continuous spectrum that are produced by cool, thin (low-pressure) gases in front of a hotter, dense object. Made by electrons jumping up farther from the nucleus of the atom.

acceleration

Astronomy; General astronomy

a change in motion = (the velocity change)/(time interval of change). It involves a change in the speed (increase or decrease) OR direction OR both speed and direction.

accretion disk

Astronomy; General astronomy

disk of gas that forms around a massive object as material spirals onto the massive object. Accretion disks around white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes form when material is drawn off a ...

active galaxy

Astronomy; General astronomy

luminous galaxy that produces most of its energy from a very compact source at its center. It has a non-thermal continuous spectrum. The energy is coming from an accretion disk of gas around a ...

adaptive optics

Astronomy; General astronomy

a technique that compensates for atmospheric turbulence by quickly adjusting the light path in the optics. This removes seeing effects and enables the telescope to achieve much better resolution, ...